Sheriff Promotes Four Deputies

Four sheriff's deputies will be promoted Thursday, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office announced this week.

Chief Deputy Jim Hart, 46, will be assigned to the Main Jail in his new position. The Harbor High graduate has been with the sheriff's office for 23 years and most recently served as lieutenant in charge of investigations.

Hart was a standout basketball player at the University of Nevada-Reno and earned a bachelor of arts degree. He is a graduate of Sherman Block Leadership Academy and an alumnus of Leadership Santa Cruz County. Hart holds basic, intermediate, advanced, supervisory and management certificates from the California Peace Officer Standards in Training (POST). He also teaches at Cabrillo and Bethany colleges.

Lt. Jeremy Verinsky, 40, has been with the sheriff's office for 14 years. He has had positions in crime scene investigation and as patrol deputy, field training officer, school resource officer, SWAT team member, firearms instructor, supervisor and investigator.

Verinsky, a Santa Cruz High School graduate, attended Cabrillo College in Aptos and at Gavilan College, where he earned his POST certification as a peace officer. He has basic, intermediate, advanced and supervisory certificates from POST and is a graduate of the Sherman Block Leadership Institute.

Upon promotion, Verinsky will be assigned to the Sheriff’s Corrections Bureau, Main Jail.

Sgt. Daniel Freitas, a nine-year veteran of law enforcement, started with the sheriff's office in 2002. He has been a patrol deputy, field training officer and lead homicide investigator. He's also on the SWAT team and an ROP teacher for local high school students in the area of criminal justice.

Freitas, 30, graduated from Chico State University with a degree in public administration. While in school, he interned with the Chico Police Department for two semesters. After college, he attended Evergreen College in San Jose for the basic police academy. Daniel holds basic, intermediate and advanced certificates from POST.

Sgt. Peter Hansen, 32, has been in law enforcement for a decade. As a sheriff's deputy, he's worked patrol and been a court security guard. He was a narcotics detective for four years and a field training officer and now is on the SWAT team.

Hansen graduated from American River College with an associate's degree and earned a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice at Sacramento State.