Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Matthew Marchand received a meritorious award, and Deputy Brandon Wilson was promoted during a brief ceremony Thursday morning at the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.

Chief Deputy Keith Moran and Sheriff Steve Sikes honored Marchand for his diligent observation that resulted in the return of stolen merchandise.

Moran said Marchand was supposed to be honored earlier this year, but his commitment to work kept him from participating in an earlier presentation. The chief said Marchand was patrolling neighborhoods on Dec. 5, 2011, when he spotted three four-wheelers. He realized that one of the four-wheelers matched the description of one that was reported stolen earlier that day from a residence.

When Marchand approached the men to ask about the four-wheelers, they fled and abandoned the ATVs. One of the four-wheelers was traced back to the earlier call. Later that evening, another residence called to report a missing ATV and it was discovered that it was one of the ATVs the suspected offenders abandoned.

“Deputy Marchand’s tireless effort of community policing recovered the stolen property quickly,” Moran said.

Moran and Sikes then presented stripes to Wilson and promoted him to advanced deputy.

“Deputy Brandon Wilson has been on the force for eight years,” Moran said. “He started at the very bottom and has worked his way up to the top. He has done an outstanding job and has now met all the qualifications for promotion to advanced deputy.”