Schmidt hires Jahns as new chief deputy

The Gonzales County Sheriff’s Office recently announced the hiring of a new chief deputy. Sheriff Keith Schmidt, who was appointed sheriff on Sept. 16 to replace the late Sheriff Robert Ynclan, announced that former Precinct 1 Deputy Constable Dennis Jahns has replaced former Chief Deputy Chris Aviles. The decision came on Sept. 17.
“I didn’t have a spot for [Aviles] in our program,” Schmidt said. “We need our command staff to live inside Gonzales County, so we just didn’t have anything for him.”
Schmidt elaborated that Aviles resided in Guadalupe County, and that was the reason for his departure.
Schmidt also noted that all other GCSO law enforcement have retained their positions.

As chief deputy, Aviles had applied earlier this month to succeed Ynclan, but he was deemed ineligible by the Gonzales County Commissioners Court because he had not resided in Gonzales County for at least 12 months, as required by state law.