MISSION VIEJO

After five years as the city’s chief of police services, Kim Markuson was recently promoted and assigned to a job as commander of the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange. Markuson, now an Orange County Sheriff’s Department captain, said he expects to leave the city for his new job at the end of the month. As commander of the jail, Markuson will oversee about 1,800 inmates. The jail’s population is scheduled to almost double in the near future with the completion of a new wing. “I really hate to see him leave, but I’m very happy for him,” City Manager Dan Joseph said. “It’s going to be a tough job replacing him.” Department officials said Markuson was chosen from dozens of candidates. Markuson said he will miss his current assignment but is pleased with the job he has done. “I’m very proud of the fact that despite the growth in population, the crime rate has gone down,” he said.