RICHMOND, Va. -- Saturday night's roll call at the Henrico County Jail was pretty routine -- except for the six faces in the room that are new to the force.
Casie O'Neill is one of 33 sheriff's deputies that relocated from Petersburg to Henrico County.
"I have a son in college his first year. So, I was devastated,” said O’Neil.
A devastating blow for O'Neill -- considering she only spent two months at the Petersburg City Jail.
"They were trying to fix the jail up. But I think it was a money problem and they couldn't reach an agreement on that. And they decided to close it,” said O’Neill.
Last month, the Petersburg City Jail closed. And the jail’s closure was a surprise to former Supervisor -- Deputy Benjamin Steed, Jr. He was worried about retirement.
"It felt to me...it would be a little harder for me to get a job," said Steed. "As far as the younger officers because I'm at that age to the point. Well, we want younger people.”
Not the issue in Henrico County -- Sheriff Mike Wade reached out right away to put these men and women back on the payroll, while filling a 30-year vacancy rate at the county jail.
"For the citizens of Henrico, it's less money because the amount the county has to pay is less because of the salaries they bought with them,” said Wade. “It’s a huge win for the County.”
But for O'Neill and Steed -- having a job in this climate is priceless.
"I'm glad to be here. It's part of my DNA,” said O’Neill.
"My objective is to just stay professional,” said Steed. “Be honest and do my job to the best of my ability like I’ve been doing all these years.”
Wade tells CBS 6, several more deputies are on their way to his jail. He says the new arrivals would fill 20 vacancies and 15 additional positions approved by the Virginia Compensation Board.
