Kerr County Victims Services lauded by Thin Blue Line LEMC

Kerr County Victims Services has been honored by the Thin Blue Line Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club’s birthday gathering held in Kerrville on July 15. The Thin Blue Line Motorcycle Club began in Houston and has a membership comprised of two-thirds law enforcement officers and their spouses and one-third civilians who support the cause of helping law enforcement officers and families of officers who have either been killed or injured in the line of duty. Currently, it now has 45 chapters and more than 700 active members.

On July 18, 2020, the Thin Blue Line motorcycle club was in the Hill Country to celebrate the organization’s birthday. Many of the members were participating in a group ride when Ivan Robles Navejas crossed the center stripe with his car and crashed head-on into the group, according to a press release from the Kerr County Sheriff’s Office. In all, 11 motorcycle club members were injured in the incident – 4 of them fatally so. Navejas, 28, was sentenced in June 2022 in the 216th District Court on 4 cases of intoxicated manslaughter and 3 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

According to the treasurer of the Thin Blue Line, Deanie Boy, when reflecting on KCVS Coordinator Pam Peter and Victims’ Rights Assistant Cathy Rae, “These ladies were wonderful because of how they kept everybody that was directly involved with this case up to date.” Boy added, “Being a police officer, I’ve dealt with many crime victim service advocates. I’ll tell you what…if anything ever happened to me, I’d want Pam to help.”

Killed were: Joseph Paglia, president of the Thin Blue Line LEMC Chicago chapter and a retired officer with the Niles City Police Dept., Jerry Wayne Harbour, a Thin Blue Line ambassador, retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army and a pilot for Eastern Airlines and Michael White, secretary of the Thin Blue Line LEMC Chicago chapter. Joseph Lazo, a police department sergeant in Niles, Illinois, died later from injuries he suffered in the crash.

Kerr County Victims Services provides free aid to victims affected by felony cases before the 198th and 216th District Courts, which serve Kerr, Gillespie and Bandera counties. The entity also assists victims who suffered physical injury in misdemeanor cases in the Kerr County Court-at-Law and the Kerr County Juvenile Court. They keep victims informed of legal proceedings, inform them of their statutory rights, help them with preparing victims impact statements and help connect them with the long list of resources available to them.

Kerr County Victims Services is located in the Kerr County Courthouse basement annex and can be reached by calling (830) 792-2297, extension 1190, or by emailing victimservices@co.kerr.tx.us.