2022 Award Winners

2022 Firefighter of the Year
Jonathan Taylor, Firefighter/Driver

Firefighter/Driver Jonathan Taylor was chosen as our 2022 Firefighter of the Year. Jonathan started with the City of Boca Raton in 2013 and was promoted to Firefighter/Driver in 2021.

Captain Ryan Cihowiak nominated Jonathan for his quick action in recognizing the seriousness of a victim ‘s condition that was involved in a vehicle accident on I-95. Jonathan then anticipated the needs of the rescuers performing the extrication of the victim from the vehicle by ensuring they had all the equipment and resources available. He showed outstanding performance on this incident and is a model for others to follow.

On a different incident involving 11 vehicles on fire, Jonathan single-handedly obtained a water supply for Truck 1 and delivered foam to the attack lines. He accomplished this in approximately 5 minutes, which again shows outstanding performance during an emergency situation.

Jonathan’s outstanding performance, dedication to the community and the department can also be exemplified by his years of service in various leadership roles in our Explorer Program. This program teaches young people leadership skills and allows them to see what firefighters do every day. This gives them the first-hand knowledge to determine if they would like to pursue a career in the fire service. In addition to the Explorer Program, Jonathan also serves as an Honor Guard member and holds the role of Quartermaster. To further illustrate his dedication, he is also a member of the department’s Special Operations Team.

2022 100 Club PBSO Deputy of the Year Detective Eric Zadanosky

Detective Eric Zadanosky has been a Deputy Sheriff with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) since June of 2000. During that time, he has worked as a Road Patrol Deputy, a Field Training Officer (FTO), and most recently a Property Crimes Detective in District 7 (Boca Raton). During his time as a Property Crimes Detective, Detective Zadanosky has investigated countless burglaries, thefts, frauds, crimes against the elderly and most recently investigating all animal cruelty cases within the South Region Bureau, which includes Districts 4, 6 and 7.

In early July 2022, Detective Zadanosky became aware of an animal cruelty complaint from the Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control (ACC). The complaint came in via a Snapchat video, which depicted a black male picking up a cat (Lulu) by the neck and throwing her high in the air into a swimming pool several times. ACC along with PBSO Deputies responded to the suspect’s home in Boca Raton and explained to him what he was doing to his pets was animal abuse and the animals needed to be removed from the home to which he refused. Detective Zadanosky took immediate action and met with an ACC veterinarian who viewed the video and stated in his professional opinion the cat was in severe distress and the person throwing the cat into the pool was causing the cat unnecessary, excessive, and repeated pain and suffering. Based on his investigation, Detective Zadanosky developed probable cause for a search warrant to enter the suspect’s home, remove Lulu and turn her over to ACC. The suspect was later arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty.

In early October 2022, Detective Zadanosky was notified of an animal cruelty complaint from PBC Crime Stoppers in regards to a white dog, later identified as Blanca being dragged by her collar behind a pickup truck. After receiving this information, Detective Zadanosky began his investigation by identifying the owner of the truck and his most recent address. A photo-lineup was generated and shown to a subject who witnessed the incident. Unfortunately, the witness could not make a positive identification, but stated if he had to guess it would be the subject in the number three spot (suspect in the case). Detective Zadanosky along with PBSO Deputies and ACC responded to the suspect’s home and located the above-mentioned pickup truck parked in the driveway. In the back of the pickup truck appeared to be dried blood and possible animal tissue. Detective Zadanosky made contact with the suspect, who provided a full confession to the above incident. Blanca was turned over to the care of ACC for immediate medical treatment. According to an ACC veterinarian, if Blanca was not brought in for the treatment of her injuries, her condition would have continued to worsen and her health would have deteriorated, due to the risk of Blanca’s infections spreading throughout her body. The suspect was arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty and cruelty to animals. Blanca went through rehabilitation wand was later adopted by a loving family.

At the end October 2022, Detective Zadanosky was notified by ACC they received a phone call from a subject who worked as a dog groomer at a local pet grooming business in Boca Raton and wanted to report an allegation of animal abuse. The complainant stated the owner of the business was very abusive to animals; he would manhandle, choke, and even punch the animals that did not behave while being groomed. The complainant was able to record this most recent incident which showed the owner forcefully pushing a dog he was grooming down onto a table while combing the dog’s hair. He raises his right arm and hand, and with a closed fist punches the dog. He looks back before striking the dog a second time with his right hand. The dog yelps and cries, and appears to be in pain from being struck. The other videos sent by the employee showed similar types of abuse to dogs committed by the businesses’ owner. After receiving this information, Detective Zadanosky dove into the investigation by immediately interviewing the complainant and former employees of the grooming business that had also witnessed the owner abusing animals. Detective Zadanosky submitted a warrant request to the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office, which was immediately approved for two counts of animal cruelty. With arrest warrant in-hand, Detective Zadanosky along with PBSO Deputies located the owner at the business and took him into custody for the above charges. At that time, Detective Zadanosky was able to obtain a post Miranda confession from the business owner. Due to Detectives Zadanosky’s quick and thorough investigation, another animal abuser was taken off the streets of Palm Beach County, and the business is no longer operational. This incident of animal abuse made the national news.

After 23 years, Detective Zadanosky continues to have the passion for investigating crimes and helping make a difference in our local community and Palm Beach County. Detective Eric Zadanosky has worked alongside the Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control addressing the many incidents of animal cruelty throughout the South Region Bureau, he is selected as the 2022 100 Club Deputy of the Year for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

2022 Officer of the Year
Detective Daniel Melgar

Detective Daniel Melgar began his career with the Boca Raton Police Services Department in 2008 and transferred to the Computer Crimes Unit in 2018. As a member of the Internet and Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force in South Florida, he has attended hundreds of hours of training related to computer crimes and electronic forensics.

In 2022, Detective Melgar was successful in clearing numerous cases. One of the cases, which began in 2021, was successfully prosecuted and the defendant plead to nine years in prison. Detective Melgar followed up on an allegation wherein a juvenile female’s parents stated they thought an adult male had traveled from out of state to engage in sexual activity with their daughter. They believed the male misrepresented his age as 16 and may be targeting additional juveniles. Detective Melgar began an investigation and utilized detectives from the Crimes Against Persons Unit of the Boca Raton Police Department to assist with interviews. He then followed up with local hotels and airlines to verify the suspect’s travel to Boca Raton, and utilized subpoenas for social media sites, email addresses and cellular phone carriers to identify the suspect and verify his age (26). He partnered with the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office prosecutors in the Special Victims Unit to obtain search warrants and worked with the ICAC Task Force to secure information needed for an arrest warrant. Ultimately, Detective Melgar was successful in having a fully extraditable, no bond warrant issued for the suspect. Once taken into custody, Detective Melgar met with prosecutors and the suspect’s attorney, and upon reviewing the evidence obtained in the investigation, the suspect agreed to a nine-year plea deal.

In February of 2022, Detective Melgar initiated a follow-up investigation on the report of a video being circulated at a local middle school, which showed a juvenile female committing sexually explicit acts. Detective Melgar learned that the victim was targeted by other juvenile females in her class. The victim had sent images and videos of herself to a social media account she thought belonged to a juvenile male. In reality, the juvenile suspects “catfished” the victim via Snapchat. Detective Melgar conducted numerous interviews and used cellular phone forensic evidence and information, which included text messages, video file sharing, and the creation of the fictitious online persona, to build a criminal case which resulted in the juvenile suspects being charged for their actions.

In June of 2022, Detective Melgar was selected to attend training sponsored by the United States Secret Service at the National Computer Forensics Institute (NCFI) to further enhance his forensic examination training and ability. Detective Melgar’s dedication to job-related education, coupled with his work ethic, shows his unwavering commitment to seeking justice for victims of cybercrime and internet-related crimes against children.

2022 Trooper of the Year
Sergeant Mario Alarcon

The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) would like to nominate Sergeant Mario Alarcon for the annual 100 Club Award for his continued unwavering dedication to the Florida Highway Patrol and to the citizens of Palm Beach County.
Sergeant Mario Alarcon began his career with FHP in July of 2011 and after graduating from the 121st FHP Recruit Academy in February 2012, he began patrolling the roadways in Desoto County. In 2013 Trooper Alarcon transferred to Broward County and then, in September 2017, promoted to the rank of Sergeant assigned to the Lake Worth District in Palm Beach County.

Sergeant Alarcon has been the anchor for the afternoon shift in the Lake Worth District. He has the challenging task of supervising all the newer Troopers, most with little to no experience. He is continually taking calls from the Troopers and always puts their needs above his own. Whenever he is called upon, he steps up with no hesitation and always gives his best to the Florida Highway Patrol. Sergeant Alarcon has a calming demeanor and brings confidence to scenes that he supervises.

On Friday, May 27, 2022, Sergeant Mario Alarcon was working an off-duty detail in Palm Beach County. Sergeant Alarcon was monitoring the radio and heard a transmission from the Lake Worth Regional Communication Center (LWRCC) alerting Troopers that a wrong way vehicle was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of Interstate 95. The vehicle was last reported entering Palm Beach County. Sergeant Alarcon left his off-duty location and started to travel southbound on Interstate 95, searching for the wrong-way vehicle. At 1:05 A.M., he observed the wrong way vehicle north of Glades Road, traveling northbound in the southbound lanes within the inside lane. Sergeant Alarcon, realizing there was a high probability the wrong way driver would become involved in a fatal traffic crash if she wasn’t stopped, activated his emergency lights and siren, turned around and overtook the wrong way vehicle. After following the vehicle in the wrong direction, it was evident that the vehicle was not going to stop for Sergeant Alarcon.

Sergeant Alarcon aligned his vehicle in a position to conduct a Precision Immobilization Technique (PIT) maneuver. It should be noted, while preparing to conduct the PIT, Sergeant Alarcon was traveling through a construction area where large orange barrels were in place. Sergeant Alarcon had to time his PIT to occur in between the spacing of the barrels. Sergeant Alarcon perfectly timed his PIT between the barrel spacing and struck the right rear portion of the wrong way vehicle forcing it out of the occupied travel lanes and into the unoccupied shoulder. The vehicle came to a stop and the driver was removed from the vehicle safely.

The suspect was investigated for Driving while Under the Influence (DUI). The suspect was arrested and transported to the Palm Beach County Jail where she blew .167 more than twice the legal limit.

Sergeant Alarcon, without question, saved lives that night both the public and the suspect herself. He did this while selflessly putting his own life at risk driving in the wrong direction on the interstate. Sergeant Alarcon is passionate about serving the citizens and visitors of Florida and conveys this same passion to the FHP members he supervises and works with every day. On that day he represented the Florida Highway Patrol with honor and bravery as he does each day. He truly exemplifies the high standards of the Florida Highway Patrol.