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Leo Perez Jr.

Leandro "Leo" Perez Jr. , known professionally as Leo Perez is a United States Citizen of Mexican decent. He is best known as the founder of the P.O.S.T ( Probation Officer Safety Training) program which was created in 2012. He later created the D.E.P.O.T ( Developmental and Educational Probation Officer Training ) and the S.T.O.P ( Safety Training for Office Personnel ).

Born in 1976 - age 46 Edinburg,Texas U.S.

James Nikki Rowe High School James "Nikki" Rowe High School University of Texas Pan American

Occupation
 * Probation Officer
 * Security Guard

Spouse(s) Josie Alvarado ( 2003 - Present)

Children 2

Career
 * Hidalgo County CSCD
 * Paragon Systems
 * La Plaza Mall

Leandro “Leo” Perez Jr was born to Leandro and Victorina Perez in the fall of 1975 in Edinburg, Texas. He grew up in the south side of McAllen, Texas, a small border town approximately 15 minutes from the Texas / Mexico border. He attended Thipen and Zavala Elementary ( where his Kindergarten teacher gave him his nickname of “Leo” because she could not pronounce his name ). In March of 1985, while bike riding near a neighborhood park, Leo was hit by a drunk driver. Leo’s injuries left him bedridden for 5 months. His injuries covered 25 percent of his body. He made a full recovery twelve months later and was able to join the Brown Jr. High concert band in 1987. Leo is a 1995 graduate of the Mighty Warrior class of James Nikki Rowe High School in McAllen, Texas. While attending high school he studied welding, auto body repair, drafting, and agriculture mechanics. Leo has always credited his auto body instructor Don Mitchell, as has having an amazing impact on his life. Leo was employed full time as a security guard for the Hidalgo County Housing Authority, during his last two years of high school. After graduation he attended Devry Institute of Technology ( Now known as Dervy University) from 1995 - 1996. He went on to be a 1999 Graduate of the University of Texas at Brownsville’s Police Academy, which he attended in La Joya, Texas. Leo continued his education and earned his Associates Degree in Liberal Arts at South Texas Community College in 2001. He would later attend the United States Border Patrol Academy class 511 ( Laredo South Station), but was released from duty due to an extensive knee injury. He returned to McAllen, Texas and continued his education graduating from the University of Texas Pan American class of 2004, where he majored in Criminal Justice. Leo spent a combined total of 24 years protecting the shoppers of the La Plaza Mall Shopping Center, where he officially retired from La Plaza Mall loss prevention / security team in 2020, and the radio call sign 105, was passed on to the next legacy. Leo worked at the Bentsen Tower Federal building under the Federal Protective Service security contract from 1996 to 2005. He returned to the FPS contract in 2019, where he is currently assigned to the Hidalgo Port of entry. Leo began his career with the Hidalgo County Community Supervision & Corrections Department in September of 2005, where he has held the titles of Community Supervision Officer, US Marshals Task Force Officer, Assistant Supervisor and MIS Manager. Leo has spent the last 6 years presenting his training programs P.O.S.T ( Probation Officer Safety Training), D.E.P.O.T ( Developmental and Educational Probation Officer Training) and S.T.O.P ( Safety Training for Office Personnel ) at various conferences throughout the state of Texas to include, The Correctional Management Institute of Texas, Texas Corrections Association, The Texas Probation Association, And the Council for Sex Offender Treatment.. In 2003, he was one of the recipients of the Simon Property Rose Award, for his role in the emergency evacuation of the La Plaza Mall Shopping Center, a 130, 0000 square foot shopping center located in McAllen, Texas. In 2016, he was the recipient of the [https://www.txprobation.com/Judge-Terry-L-Jacks-Award#:~:text=This%20award%2C%20named%20in%20memory,to%20the%20community%20corrections%20profession. Texas Probation Associations Judge Terry L. Jacks Award] for his significant contributions to the community corrections profession. He is an active Corrections 1 columnist, an online worldwide resource for corrections departments. His publications offer commentary and opinions on various topics dealing with the community corrections profession. In 2023 he was the recipient of the Texas Probation Associations Sam Houston State University Award, for his scholarly contributions to the community corrections profession.

Leo is determined to leave a small impact on the world of Community Corrections by encouraging officers to develop training programs such as his, that are created and developed by Community Corrections Officers, because as Leo states in the beginning of each training class, “We are each other’s greatest teachers.” Some of you may recognize Leo from his role as Mario Macho in the TRAS training videos. He is said to be patiently waiting to revisit his role, in an effort to increase the number training videos for TRAS certification. Leo is a lifetime member of the Texas Probation Association where he serves as Co-Chair for the silent auction committee. He is also a member of of the Texas Gang Investigators Association.