PC Sheriff’s Office assists State Patrol and Homeland Security in Grant

SAMANTHA GOFF

GRANT TRIBUNE SENTINEL

In a statement released by the Perkins County Sheriff’s Department  the public was notified of an incident that occurred last week at 2nd and Logan in Grant. 

Law enforcement agencies were present at the property where the Southwest Nebraska Community Betterment Corporation (SWNCBC) is currently building a new home. 

According to the statement, “around noon on Thursday May 1, The Perkins County Sheriff’s was called to assist elements of the Nebraska State Patrol and Department of Homeland Security in order to assist in the apprehension of an individual with active warrants. This person was thought to be working as part of a construction crew sub-contracted by a company from a different part of the state. Attempts to locate this man took place on the 200 block of Lincoln Ave. in Grant, Nebraska.  The wanted person was not located by law enforcement and is believed to have left the area, however five individuals were detained, and three men were eventually taken into custody by Homeland Security due to unrelated immigration issues.”

Sheriff Scott Miller said the Perkins County Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska State Patrol were brought in to assist Homeland Security in apprehending the individual while also eliminating any level of threat to the public. 

“It was more of a man power thing, to just have the resources on hand so there is really no opportunity for anyone to do anything that could present a possibility of public risk.”

“The initial individual was being sought, he was not located there at the job site, however there were other individuals there working and homeland security did run them via their finger prints and it was found that they had outstanding immigration issues that were unrelated to the initial investigation,” Miller said. 

“Southwest has a stellar reputation and the have strict guidelines that they follow to a T, so it shouldn’t reflect on them at all,” Miller added. 

According to SWNCBC director Amy Thelander,  the General Contractor for the project, Plex Construction, subcontracted with Core Framing, both of whom are registered with the state of Nebraska and the department of labor. The individuals who were detained were employees of Core Framing. 

“The project will continue and this incident has no effect on SWNCBC and our project. We are 100% in compliance and within the regulations that govern our contract for the grant award. We have done our due diligence in hiring a qualified general contractor.” 

“We hired qualified contractors and have no control over subcontracting, or employees. The incident is unfortunate, but will not affect the continuation of the project, just slowed it down a little. According to the general contractor, things should be moving again by this weekend” she said.  

The Perkins County Sheriffs Office said “we look forward to continuing our cooperation into the future as we all endeavor to keep our communities as safe as possible,” in their statement.

Any questions or concerns can be directed to Sheriff Miller at 308-352-7501 during business hours.