Nick Bechtel

nbechtel@marionstar.com

MARION – Ten years ago, a Marion deputy was killed in the line of duty.

Detective Christy Utley with the Marion County Sheriff's Office said the world lost a "friend and a hero" that day.

"We will continue to miss Brandy in many ways," she said.

Utley and the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio led a ceremony Tuesday morning at Brandy Lyn Winfield's resting place at Marion Cemetery. More than 100 people, including local law enforcement groups and city and county officials, joined the Winfield family and friends to remember him a decade after his death.

"It seems like it happened yesterday, not 10 years ago," Shirley Winfield, Brandy's mother, said as rain began to sprinkle while the crowd dispersed. "I still miss him as much as the day we got that call. It's a rough day."

Brenda Winfield, Brandy's grandmother, said it was tough to come out every year.

"I'm just glad everyone thought so much of him," she said.

"He'll never be forgotten," added Forest Winfield, Brandy's grandfather.

In the early morning of Oct. 14, 2004, Winfield was called to check on an abandoned van stopped in the road on Ohio 423. The last radio message sent to the sheriff's office described a man walking along the road carrying a gas can. When officials did not hear from him for some time, they sent authorities from the Marion Police Department and the sheriff's office to look for him.

Those responders found Winfield in his cruiser with a gunshot wound. The cruiser was upside down in a ditch on Ohio 423. Winfield was pronounced dead later that morning after being taken to Marion General Hospital.

Chaplain Jeff Williams, who led several prayers during Tuesday's hour-long ceremony, said many of the officers have pictures of Winfield in their cruisers to remember that tragic day.

"It's not that we think of Brandy every few years," he said. "We think of him every day."

Winfield's killer, 30-year-old Juan C. Cruz, is serving a life sentence in Toledo. He pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and aggravated robbery in 2005. His first parole board hearing is scheduled for 2047.

Since Winfield's death, his closest friends founded an annual poker run that has raised more than $160,000 for Marion-area charities. Funds have gone to support Safety City, Relay For Life, and Cops and Kids. The charity also has provided funding to purchase Marion's newest police dog, Six, named after Winfield's cruiser and unit number.

"Through the whole 10 years, we've got this kind of support," Shirley Winfield said. "It's been amazing. Great people in Marion, for sure."

nbechtel@marionstar.com

740-375-5155

Twitter: @NickMStar