NEWS RELEASE

For further information please contact: Capt. J. Tim Hull
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11083
November 10, 2008
EMPHASIS: Villanueva Named Commander Of Troop D, Springfield


Colonel James F. Keathley, superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, announces the following promotion effective December 1, 2008:

Lieutenant Juan O. Villanueva is being promoted to the rank of captain and designated commanding officer of Troop D, Springfield, MO.

Villanueva was appointed to the Patrol on July 1, 1987, as a member of the 59th Recruit Class. Upon graduating from the Patrol’s Law Enforcement Academy in Jefferson City, MO, he was assigned to Troop A, Saline County. In 1992, he was promoted to corporal, and assigned to Troop A, Clay County. Villanueva was promoted to sergeant in 1995, and remained in Clay County. In 1999, he was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to Troop D, Springfield.

Captain Villanueva was born in Loiza, Puerto Rico. He graduated from Lincoln Park High School in Chicago, IL. Villanueva attended the University of Illinois and Culver-Stockton College (MO). He is also a graduate of the Northwestern University Traffic Institute. Captain Villanueva and his wife, Barbara, have three children: Alannah, Isabel, and Emilio. He is the first Hispanic troop commander in the history of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

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