Country Zest and Style Spring 2021 Edition

A Big New Middleburg Police Presence

By Leonard Shapiro

M

aybe you’ve noticed Middleburg’s new police officer. How could you not?

He’s a big man, 6-foot-4 and built like an NFL offensive tackle. But he never played football, even though his high school coaches tried to convince him to try out, for all the obvious reasons.

Instead, Shaun Jones, had a better idea. The Boy Scouts in Spotsylvania County had a program called Police Explorer, with Jones and other teenagers riding in squad cars alongside local officers. Clearly he was hooked on law enforcement at an early age, and it also may have been in his genes.

Jones said “idolized” an older brother, William, who once had been a policeman. Two uncles on his mother’s side had been officers, and an uncle on his dad’s side had Photo by Vicky Moon been with the FBI. For the last 21 Middleburg Police Lt. Shaun Jones years, Jones has followed in all of their footsteps, culminating with his hiring Dec. 3 as a lieutenant on the town’s police force, and second in command to Chief A.J. Panebianco.

“We had eight or nine applicants and were looking for someone who would fit this community,” Panebianco said. “He was easily the best candidate for the job.”

Jones, 43, had been with the Spotsylvania County Sheriff ’s Department, where he headed administrative services and community outreach. A native of Westmoreland County, his family moved to Spotsylvania when he was in fourth grade.

Jones first started on that county’s police force in 2002, had a three-year stint working as a campus officer at Mary Washington College, then went back to the Spotsylvania’s sheriff ’s office in 2012, where he’s had many varied roles.

They include foot and car patrol, detective, community outreach and running a drug abuse program to visit schools and educate children on the danger of drugs and alcohol. Most recently, he headed up community policing and served as a crime prevention specialist. He’s also taught policing at the local and state level, and also started a program called Operation Blue Christmas.

“We parked police cars in front of a Wal-Mart and people came up to donate toys and coats,” he said. “In 2019, we had more than 800 kids come to the sheriff ’s office for new toys and coats. We gave 100 teenagers $100 each and took them to a store to buy clothes. We gave $100 to 100 senior citizens to go shopping, and we also did food baskets for seniors.”

When Jones saw the job posting for the Middleburg, he was intrigued, mainly because his ultimate goal has always been to be a police chief. Panebianco, a widely respected chief all around the state, “is a just great person to learn from,” Jones said.

Something else to notice about Shaun Jones.

He’s only the second African-American to serve on the town police force, though Panebianco said that had “absolutely nothing to do with hiring him.”

“I’m a people person,” Jones said. “I believe in treating everyone the same, no matter what your race is. I don’t look at color. I look at who they are.”

And in Middleburg, he clearly likes what he sees.

“The people have been great,” he said. “They’re walking, running, driving and they wave to you. I know all the dogs and their owners. I’ve never been in a town where everyone knows the officers by their first name.

“I love it here. The community has welcomed me with open arms. People are still coming up to me to say hello, and ‘welcome to Middleburg.’ The highlight of my day is walking around town. I’d like to finish my career right here.”

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Go Green Middleburg | Spring 2021