MARIANNA – A childhood dream fueled by his love of the TV show “Adam 12” played out as crisply as one of the episodes for Dave Edmondson, who Monday celebrated his 30-year law enforcement career – the last 13 with the State Attorney’s Office – with a retirement luncheon.
Edmondson, 55, emphasized he was blessed to fulfill his career dreams and encouraged the 30-plus people at the luncheon to do the same.
“I found a way to make my dream come true,” he said. “Find your way.”
Larry Basford, 14th Judicial Circuit State Attorney, presented Edmondson with a plaque commemorating his service and a framed picture of the two of them in court, while thanking him for his service to both his country and community.
“I’ve found Dave to be honest, hard-working, knowledgeable, dependable and loyal,” Basford said. “He sees the big picture and that’s very important … and he’s also a team player and all of these things are very important in the type of work that we do.
“When I asked people if they had one word they could say to describe him, I heard ‘diligent,’” Basford continued. “He could find almost any witness to be found in Jackson County.”
Edmondson began his law enforcement career in 1991 with the Sneads Police Department, moving from there to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office before joining the State Attorney’s Office about 13 years ago, working out of the Marianna office.
“The last couple of weeks have been kind of overwhelming … it’s hard to wrap your mind around leaving what you’ve been doing for 30 years,” Edmondson said. “I can’t believe it’s been 30 years.”
Edmondson began his career as a patrolman, worked property and sex crimes as an investigator, was part of a multi-agency task force for more than 10 years and worked undercover as well. His “favorite,” he said, was when he served as a tactical officer.
“I’ve had a great career, I’ve had the opportunity to do exactly everything that I wanted to do in police work,” he said.
Basford pointed to two major cases as highlights of Edmondson’s work.
One was the horrific murders of Danielle Baker, 19, and her three sons – ages 3, 1 and 3 weeks – in her apartment in 2005. Basford said Edmondson’s work on that complex case helped lead to a successful prosecution and conviction in 2009. Williams is serving four life sentences.
The second was the murder of a 19-day-old infant in Graceville in 2017.
“I want you to know how hard Dave worked on that,” Basford said. “I was there that night, it happened up in Graceville, you start thinking about that case and I get emotional, I know Dave does too.
“Dave was one of the lead investigators on that case, it was cold, it was long, and he did a fantastic job on that case. He worked closely with Mark Graham and helped see it through to a successful prosecution.”
The mother, Lisette Taylor, was convicted of aggravated manslaughter in February and is serving a 23-year sentence.
Other speakers included former State Attorney Glenn Hess, retired Circuit Court Judge and current Assistant State Attorney Bill Wright, Assistant State Attorney Shalla Jefcoat, and former Jackson County Sheriff’s Office coworker Jeff Snell
For additional information contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov.