Editor’s Note: from time to time we’ll catch one of Jim Cavanaugh’s “War Stories” shared on social media. His tales from days serving in law enforcement are too good to miss, and he has agreed to allow us to share them with Brownwood News readers.
Written by Jim Cavanaugh – Numero Uno: This idiot boarded a flight from Palm Beach back to Philadelphia carrying a crate of grapefruit he wanted to take home.
As he entered the flight the stewardess asked what he had and the idiot said a bomb.
He was taking the plane to Cuba…. at the time, it was not the thing to joke about. Janney and I took him from the Sheriff’s Office custody and charged him with Interfering with a Flight Crew, only a misdemeanor – but it got his attention.
Some lady standing behind him when he made the comment went down and had to be taken to the hospital.
Thus, he went to jail.
Numero Dos: The mother of the gal on the right was kidnapped in New York and held for ransom.
The daughter lived in Boca Raton, FL and was part of a Columbia drug cartel.
I negotiated a swap of the money for the hostage. The exchange took place at JFK airport in New York at 5 p.m. on a Friday night.
The guy on the left was a Miami agent from Venezuela that had never been to NYC and was in training as a hostage negotiator for the Bureau.
We flew up from Florida and finalized the swap. We took this pic as we prepared to head to the airport and make the drop.
Ended up recovering her mom unharmed, the money and arresting four idiots.
Jim Cavanaugh
Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4 in Brown County, Texas
Jim Cavanaugh graduated from Lamar Tech in Beaumont in 1967, and participated in post-graduate studies at Sam Houston, South Texas College of Law, and the University of Virginia.
Cavanaugh was a Texas police officer before joining the FBI under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover in 1971 through 1996. He served as a contractor for the Bureau and a number of Federal Agencies post 9/11.
Jim Cavanaugh has served as the Justice of the Peace for Precinct 4 in Brown County since 2007.
