Detective David E. Meacham
Detective Meacham is with the Homicide Unit of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. He was named Police Officer of the Month for January for his efforts in solving the murder of James and Carol Sumner.

The Sumners were in their early sixties and in poor health. On July 10th, 2005, their children were unable to contact them, and on July 11th, their daughter drove down from South Carolina to check on them. She discovered that the Sumners and their car were missing from their home, which was unusual.

On July 12th, a missing persons report was filed, and because foul play was suspected, Detective Meacham and his partner, Detective Gupton, were called in. While at the scene, Detective Meacham found some of the Sumners' financial information and was quickly able to determine that the Sumners' ATM card was being used more frequently than usual.

Through excellent detective work and good cooperation with other law enforcement agencies, the Sumners' abandoned car was found, photos of the suspects were obtained from ATM cameras, and even the cell phone number of one of the suspects was discovered. All of this resulted in the arrest of three suspects in South Carolina and a fourth suspect in Baker County. The fourth suspect led Detective Meacham to the victims' bodies in Charlton County, Georgia. Incredibly, all of this was accomplished in just 46 hours from the time Detective Meacham arrived at the scene.

Although this highly publicized case had a tragic ending, Detective Meacham's hard work and excellent detective skills were able to give closure to the family of the victims.

Accordingly, because of his outstanding efforts, and for his dedicated service to the community, we are proud to honor Detective David Meacham as Police Officer of the Month.

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