The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has assigned Capt. David Letourneau to Fountain Hills as the new commander for its District 7 operations based here.

Letourneau is replacing Deputy Chief Joe Rodriquez who has been promoted to oversee all patrol operations for the office.

Letourneau’s 23-year career with MCSO has brought him up through the ranks starting as a patrol deputy. From there he served as a program coordinator in the training division, and was assigned as a detective with the general investigations (now major crimes) unit.

After 9/11 Letourneau was part of the team working with Homeland Security to set up the Sheriff’s Office counterterrorism operations.

Letourneau said much of his career with MCSO has been with the enforcement support division. That division oversees the hundreds of volunteers within the office including posse. He served as the search and rescue coordinator and supervisor working within enforcement support.

Letourneau was assigned as the lieutenant for District 4 out of Cave Creek and also worked with the special investigations unit that includes the MCSO tactical unit (SWAT), bomb squad and K-9 operations as well as the animal cruelty unit.

Most recently Letourneau was assigned to the MCSO aviation division. There he has been responsible for creating the specifications for a new helicopter the office has recently ordered.

Letourneau said he looks forward to returning to the patrol roots in law enforcement. He said he has known Rodriquez a long time and they have mostly come up through the ranks together. Letourneau said he will not be changing the way things have been done in Fountain Hills during Rodriquez’s command.

Letourneau will continue to work with Lt. John D’Amico who is deputy commander for the district in Fountain Hills.