Gary Hunt takes command of Porterville TCSD substation

A 20-year veteran of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, Lt. Gary Hunt, has taken the reins to the Porterville substation, its 35 deputies and four sergeants.

Hunt follows Lt. Chris Wenzinger who has been promoted to a position in the sheriff’s headquarters in Visalia.

A native of Tulare, Hunt began with the sheriff’s department in 1994, first working in the jail division. However, he has worked several years out of the Porterville substation, including three as a patrol deputy early in his career and another three years as property crimes detective.

“I know this area fairly well,” he stressed

Newly appointed Undersheriff Mike Boudreaux and Porterville Police Chief Chuck McMillin both said Hunt will be a good addition to the substation.

“I’ve known Gary for a while. He will be good to work with,” said McMillin.

The Porterville substation is one of three substations in the county and, according to Hunt, the busiest. There are also the Pixley and Cutler-Orosi substations.

Deputies out of Porterville cover from Tonyville north of Lindsay to the Tulare-Kern country line, out to Road 192 to the west and all the way to the top of the mountains. Deputies have the small unincorporated areas of Woodville, Ducor, Terra Bella, Springville, Tonyville, Plainview and Strathmore to cover.

He said the biggest challenges the substation face are the obvious — the wide area they cover and the distance deputies can find themselves apart, which requires more time for backup to arrive as a scene.

“I am super excited to be here,” he said in his office Monday, his first full week in Porterville. “We cover a lot of population. I’m excited to be leading the troops.”

Hunt has spent the past decade working in violent crimes and two years at the Pixley substation as a sergeant. He was promoted to lieutenant this month.

Lt. Hunt has been married 23 years and he had his wife have three daughters and a grandson.