June 14, 2009
Jun 14, 2009, 10:50 PM | Updated: Jun 5, 2012, 4:22 am
PHOENIX – For more than six years here on KTAR, Phoenix Police Sergeant Paul Penzone has been profiling unsolved cases for Silent Witness. Today we say goodbye. Sgt. Penzone is retiring.
“I hope that my biggest accomplishments were that I was able to get law enforcement to recognize that we have an obligation to victims after we start our investigation,” Penzone said to KTAR’s Jayme West. “The time, the effort and the commitment that we will continue until we find the person responsible. We can’t leave any cases behind.”
And he thinks he’s been successful at getting police agencies to communicate with each other better to help solve crimes.
“I think Silent Witness kind of forms that bond and collectively helps us target criminals as one big agency as opposed to 17 small ones, said Penzone.”
While every case has been important to him, Sgt. Penzone says there are some cases that stay on his mind. The road rage murder of 20-year-old Lynsey Chainhalt and the drive-by killing of 4-year-old Daniella Torres, both still unsolved.
“One of the more significant moments for me was sitting down with Elvis Johnson’s widow and the elderly lady who was holding my hand and trying to comfort me while I’m there trying to serve her and catch her husband’s killer,” said Penzone. “And just the compassion that she had, that will stick with me forever. That was one my cases earlier in my career for Silent Witness.”
Sgt. Penzone will continue to serve the community as he takes a national position with the Valley-based non-profit Child Help.
“My hope when I came into this job, and it is still my hope in leaving it, and that is someday, you won’t have to see a spokesperson standing in front of you, begging you to help,” said Penzone. “That we take back our streets in that the criminals fear Silent Witness because they know more people are invested into it as opposed to us being the ones living in fear that they are going to come into our neighborhoods and victimize us.”
Next week we will have a new case to solve with our new Silent Witness Sgt. Darren Burch.
