[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 80 (Wednesday, May 8, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E467-E468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LIFE OF SHERIFF ROY WHITEAKER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DOUG LaMALFA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 8, 2024

  Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and public 
service career of Sutter County Sheriff Roy Whiteaker who recently 
passed away at the age of 84 years old.
  Roy was born in Calico Rock, Arkansas, to Corbin and Irene Whiteaker. 
From a young age, Roy displayed a strong sense of duty and integrity, 
traits that would guide him throughout his life and career.
  Roy would join the United States Army in 1959, where he would become 
a military policeman beginning his law enforcement career. While in the 
Army, Roy was stationed in Panama for nearly three years, where he 
would marry his wife.
  The young family would then move to Yuba City in 1962, where Roy 
would continue his law enforcement career with the City of Yuba City 
Police Department, being hired as the City's first narcotics Detective. 
He would also be instrumental in helping to organize the first Yuba-
Sutter Narcotics Task Force.
  Roy would then run for Sutter County Sheriff serving from 1971 to 
1990; when he was first

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elected as Sheriff, he was reportedly the youngest Sheriff ever elected 
in California at that time.
  During his tenure, Sheriff Whiteaker would oversee many high-profile 
cases such as the arrest of Juan Corona, who was convicted of murder 
after 25 bodies were found buried in Sutter County orchards; as well as 
in 1989 when the Sutter County Sheriff Office seized $4.25 million 
worth of illegal drugs, or what would be $11 million today accounting 
for inflation.
  Current Sutter County Sheriff Brandon Barnes was quoted as saying, 
``Roy was a tremendous leader and he served as a mentor to so many, 
including myself. He will he missed but never forgotten.'' The impact 
of Sheriff Whiteaker cannot be understated, he helped mold and 
influence the Sutter County Sheriff's Office into the force that it is 
today.
  Roy is survived by his loving wife Gladys, along with his two 
children Janet Tracy, and Jim Whiteaker, as well as many grandchildren. 
On behalf of the people of Northern California, I thank Sheriff Roy 
Whiteaker for his service to the Sutter County community. He will be 
greatly missed by all who knew him. Rest in Peace.

                          ____________________