Detective Christopher Lyons is currently a member of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit. He began his career at the Clearwater Police Department where he served as a Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Robbery Unit Detective and then Homicide Unit Detective. He was part of a team of investigators that conducted a reexamination of cold cases at the Clearwater Police Department. Their efforts produced the closure of (7) cold cases from 2012-2016.
He retired in 2016 from the Clearwater Police Department and began a second career at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. He was selected as a detective, for the second time, in 2017 when the agency created a full time unit to investigate cold case offenses. The creation of the unit has resulted in the closure of (3) cold case armed sexual battery offenses with arrests.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made Sheriff Gualtieri the commission head of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting (Parkland, Florida) Investigation, Chris was hand-selected by Sheriff Gualtieri to be on his team of investigators. Chris served the commission as an investigator and testified numerous times. His investigation into the shooter’s life history from birth to the day of the tragic event has culminated into hundreds of documents to include mental health records, school discipline, and law enforcement reports.
In 2021 Detective Lyons was reassigned to the Homicide Unit and pursues his passion for hot cases. He continued to work cold cases (part time) and was able to make an arrest for a 1999 armed sexual battery, but his primary duty is now active/hot cases.