She knelt beside the evidence markers near the dead body. As she examined each clue, the corpse giggled.
The corpse was just one of the SkillsUSA law enforcement crime scene investigation team during final practices before district competition on Feb. 20 at Odessa College.
The “crime” scene during practice on Feb. 17 involved a fake gun, a pair of boots, a wallet and of course a “body”.
The all female crime scene investigation team had to pay attention to every detail in order to crack the case.
This will be sophomore Yamilet Facio’s first time going to district.
“I was confused at first, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly,” Facio said. “I was able to understand it better.”
SkillsUSA has three females on the crime scene investigation team and four males on the building search team.
Sophomore Seth Peters said he has learned a great deal from coach, Officer Gavino Carrasco.
“I’ve learned that not everything you’ve seen on TV is real,” Peters said. “I need to listen, pay attention, find things and be patient.”
Sophomore Frank Morales will compete for the second year.
“I joined it because it was going to prepare me for what I want to do for a career,” Morales said. “Officer Carrasco knows what he’s doing. He gives me tips on what to do and be better at.”
Carrasco, who works in Andrews, travels back and forth to work as a police officer, teach and practice.
“It is pretty difficult trying to balance having a full time job, teaching part time and right now I’m running for sheriff,” Carrasco said. “The students are really understanding, they don’t mind coming in the evening to practice.”
Carrasco began to teach law enforcement in 2020. Students who took his class decided to join his club teams.
“I came to the school to help teach students that not everything they see on their phones is real,” Carrasco said. “Like when one bad cop makes a bad decision and we’re all blamed for it.”
The bar was set high by graduate Nick Reyes last year after he qualified to go to nationals. The students have been practicing after school to get ready to be in front of the judges at district.
“I don’t want to mess up in front of them,” Morales said. “I don’t want to miss a gun. I want to complete the training.”
For sophomore Ray Saldana, this will be the first time competing in law enforcement.
“I really enjoy it,” Saldana said. “I would like to do it next year. If I mess up, I will try to better next time. I’ve been trying to get more experience. I don’t want to take the college courses, graduate and not be able to work because of having no experience.”
For team senior Tristian Cornett, law enforcement was all an accident in scheduling.
“I didn’t know what (the class) was because I was brought into it,” Cornett said. “I want to be a firefighter. Carrasco has helped me see if I can get into the Seminole Firefighter Dept. after graduating.”
The students work together and connect like pieces of a puzzle.
“I don’t pick the groups,” Carrasco said. “They pick themselves with their personalities and hard work. I teach them that there is no ‘I’ in team; it is a ‘We’. If I as an adviser fail, we all fail.”
