Captain Joey Jacobs plans run for Precinct 4 constable

Veteran law enforcement officer Joey Jacobs will be running in the March Republican primary for constable of Precinct 4, which covers the Vidor area.

He has worked in law enforcement for 27 years, including 24 with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, where he has earned his way from patrol deputy to captain of detectives, overseeing the Criminal Investigations Division.

He grew up in Vidor, where he graduated from high school, and he now lives there with his wife and two children. "I love my community and I have a passion to serve my community," he said about his decision to run for the position.

Jacobs is a graduate of the Lamar Institute of Technology Police Academy in 1996 and through the years has achieved the level of "master peace officer" by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. He is also certified as an instructor in various aspects of law enforcement.

Currently, one of his duties with the Orange County Sheriff's Office is as a drone operator. He has acquired FAA licenses to fly planes and drones.

His first law enforcement work after the police academy was as a reserve officer with the Vidor Police Department. Then, he got a full-time job as an investigator with the Chambers County District Attorney's Office, where he worked narcotics cases and other criminal cases near the Houston area.

"I got homesick," he said about the job in Chambers County. He came back to Vidor and worked with the Rose City Marshal before starting with the Orange County Sheriff's Office in 1999, where he has stayed.

He worked six years as a patrol deputy, mainly on the west side of the county in the Vidor area. In 2005, Sheriff Mike White promoted him to detective. Again, he helped mainly on cases in the Vidor area. In 2013, Sheriff Keith Merritt promoted him to sergeant and he was over the Vidor sub-station. Three years later, Merritt made him lieutenant over investigations. Current Sheriff Jimmy Lane Mooney promoted him in 2021 to captain to oversee investigations.

Through his years as a law officer, he has chalked up "thousands of hours" of various training schools and he is certified as an instructor in numerous aspects of law enforcement. In addition, he has received recognition from the FBI and ATF for his work in helping with federal cases.

Jacobs said he is also well-versed in civil law, which will be helpful as a constable. One of a constable's jobs is to serve court-notification papers to people.

He has been married to his wife, Jaime, for 19 years. They have two children, son Lane, who is 18 and attending Lamar State College-Orange, and daughter, Kaylei, who is a sophomore at Vidor High.

Jacobs said he likes to serve in the community and has been assisting with traffic in the mornings outside Pine Forest Elementary in Vidor. It's a good way to help, plus he gets to meet students and their parents.

"I do believe it is important to establish trust in the community," he said. And he always has time to give a high-five slap to a third-grader.

Filing for the primary races will begin in November with county party chairs and end in December. In 2024, all four Orange County precinct constables will be on the ballots, along with positions of sheriff, district attorney, plus Precinct 1 and 3 county commissioner seats. In recent years, Orange County offices have been determined by the Republican primary as no Democrats have run. That means the winners of the Republican primary races win unopposed in November general elections.

Precinct 4 incumbent Constable Matt Ortega has announced his intention to run for re-election in the Republican primary.