Gannon Is O.C.’s 5th Assistant Sheriff

Orange County Sheriff Michael S. Carona appointed law enforcement veteran Pete Gannon as assistant sheriff Thursday, three months after he fired his longtime right-hand man.

Gannon, a 31-year veteran, becomes the fifth assistant sheriff. He will oversee the operations unit, which includes 1,300 deputies who patrol throughout the county, including John Wayne Airport, the Orange County Transportation Authority and three harbors.

“I’ve been working toward this for a long time,” said Gannon, 54, who was born and raised in Orange County and lives in South County with his wife and daughter.

Gannon was hired in 1973 and came up through the ranks, working in the harbor patrol, criminal investigations and the jails before he became a captain in 1996.

He recently supervised patrol services in the north operations division, which includes unincorporated areas of Irvine, before becoming acting assistant sheriff after Carona fired George Jaramillo, his former campaign manager and top aide, in March during a reevaluation of his executive team.

“The reorganization was a bit of a surprise for me,” Gannon said.