Sondra Hernandez Staff writer July 4, 2024

Sitting behind the wheel of a Chevy Caprice takes Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Charlie Sullivent back nearly 30 years. 

The wide-bodied car with rounded curves and an interior meant for luxury was one of his first patrol cars when he joined the force in the 1990s. 

It’s also the newest edition to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Museum. The 1991 model year vehicle was donated to the museum by the Wolforth family in 2023.

It was once driven by free agent baseball player Garrett Wolforth from Montgomery County. He spent last year with the Astros’ Class AA Corpus Christi Hooks.

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Evolution of police vehicles

After the Wolforths donated the car, it spent eight months being transformed from a civilian sedan to a police cruiser of the early 1990s era. 

Already on display are a 2007 Crown Victoria patrol car, a 2014 Dodge Charger and a 2011 Chevy Tahoe. They were fleet vehicles removed from service with the sheriff’s office. 

“You sit in this car (the Caprice) and you go sit in the Tahoe and it’s a very different experience,” he said.

It’s his hope that visitors to the museum can experience the evolution of the cars and the technology by exploring each vehicle. 

Showcasing sheriff’s office history

While planning for the museum, which opened to the public in March 2023, Sullivent felt the evolution of the patrol units was a big part of the 185-year history of the sheriff’s office and he wanted to have several cars on display at the museum. 

As the museum developed over the last 10 years, donated memorabilia was categorized by the sheriff of that era who set the style for his time in office. 

The museum was a passion project for Sullivent’s colleague, Det. Fadi Rizk, who started collecting items from retired sheriff’s personnel and widows of agency employees in 2016 as a way to share the agency’s rich history. The earliest items date back to the 1990s. 

While the 2007, 2014 and 2011 cars were pretty easy to come by through the sheriff’s office, Sullivent wanted to take it back even further and the search for a Caprice began. 

A Caprice was discovered west of Conroe on the Wolforth property. Ron and Jill Wolforth bought the car for their son, Garrett, to drive when he turned 16. 

“It had less than 15,000 miles when we got it,” Jill said.

She said the big, heavy car was painted gray with blue interior. 

“It was really smooth, heavy and drove very well on the highway and was really plush inside,” Ron said. 

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Through sheriff’s office connections Sullivent discovered the car and showed up at the Wolforths door to ask about it. 

When Sullivent explained what they wanted to do with the car, the coupled donated it.

Turning back time at the museum

The museum committee and the sheriff’s office fleet services spent eight months converting the vehicle into what a patrol car would have looked like during Joe Corley sheriff’s administration from 1981 to 1993. 

Other cars represent the eras of Sheriff Rand Henderson and former sheriff’s Guy Williams and Tommy Gage.

With minimal financial impact, they made the car as authentic as possible with a light bar, whip antenna and siren from that time. The siren and lights work to represent that era in policing.

The patrol numbers on the back 434 are a nod to Henderson as those were his number when he first began patrolling and drove a Caprice.  

“Everything is original and everything works,” Sullivent said. “It really is uncanny.” 

Now he’s pondering if they can go back even further with a car from Gene Reeves, who served as sheriff from 1961 to 1981.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2359 Holloman Street in Conroe. 

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