Rutherford County Sheriff's Office (NC)

The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office is responsible for patrolling the towns and unincorporated areas of Rutherford County, North Carolina, operating the Detention Center, transporting inmates, securing the court house, executing warrants, serving civil papers, and ensuring public safety.[1] Additionally, the Rutherford County Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of the county. [2] The current sheriff is republican Aaron Ellenburg.[3][4][5] In 2016, the sheriff's salary was set at $82,555.[6]

Sheriff of Rutherford County, North Carolina
Incumbent
Aaron Ellenburg
since December 5, 2022
SeatRutherfordton, North Carolina
Term length4 years
FormationApril 14, 1779
Salary$95,509 (2022)
Rutherford County Sheriff's Office
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionRutherford County, North Carolina
Size566 sq mi (1,470 km2)
Population64,444 (2020)
Operational structure
Headquarters198 N Washington Street, Rutherfordton, North Carolina 28139
Agency executives
  • Aaron Ellenburg, Sheriff
  • Randall Greenway, Chief Deputy
  • Peter Wan, Major

Organizational Structure

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Divisions and units of the Sheriff's Office.[7]

  • Administration
  • Patrol
  • Investigations
    • Detective Unit
    • Forensic Unit
    • Narcotics Unit
  • Support Services
    • School Resource Officers
    • Court House Security and Bailiffs
    • Civil Process
    • Warrant Process
  • Detention Center
    • Detention Crews
    • Transportation
    • Detention Investigator

Rank Structure

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The current rank structure used by the sheriff's office had been in effect since January 2023.

Rank Insignia Information Badge
Sheriff Elected to four year terms. Gold
Chief Deputy Second in command. Gold
Major Assists the Sheriff and Chief Deputy in supervising the divisions, completing administrative duties. Gold
Captain There are four Captains; one for each major division and one serving as Rutherford County Schools Investigator. Gold
Lieutenant In charge of a patrol unit and shift, or assists in detention center administration. Gold
First Sergeant Assists the administration of the Detention Center. When the 911 Communications Center was part of the Sheriff's Office, the assistant director held the rank of first sergeant. Silver
Sergeant[8] Supervises a unit or crew. Silver[9]
Corporal Serves as a school resource officer or supervisor in a unit. Silver
Deputy / Detective[10] / Detention Officer[8] Detention Officers are non-sworn employees. Detectives are also known as "investigators". Silver

The leadership hierarchy as of December 2023:

  • Sheriff Aaron Ellenburg
    • Chief Deputy Randall Greenway
      • Major Peter Wan
      • Captain Marc Duncan, Rutherford County Schools Safety Officer
        • Captain Chris Lovelace, Investigations
          • Lieutenant J. Upton, Investigations
          • Sergeant J. Greenway, Forensics
          • Sergeant J. Mode, Narcotics
        • Captain Jamie Keever, Detention Center (and Professional Standards)
          • Lieutenant Patrick Wiseman
            • Detective B. Friend
            • First Sergeant B. Sprouse
              • Sergeant J. Splawn, Detention Crew
              • Sergeant B. Cole, Detention Crew
              • Sergeant M. Logan, Detention Crew
        • Captain Stephen Ellis, Patrol
          • Lieutenant T. Lowery, Patrol Crew A
            • Sergeant J. McComas, Patrol Crew A
          • Lieutenant Allen Hardin, Patrol Crew B
            • Sergeant B. King, Patrol Crew B
          • Lieutenant Corey Smith, Patrol Crew C
            • Sergeant N. Ensley, Patrol Crew C
          • Lieutenant Michael Snyder, Patrol Crew D
            • Sergeant Wilmer Chavez Perez, Patrol Crew D
        • Captain Brian Gooch, Support Services
          • Sergeant A. Greenway, School Resource Officers
          • Sergeant E. Toney, Civil Process
          • Sergeant J. Hoppes, Warrant Process
          • Sergeant B. Hooper, Courthouse Security

Election of 2022

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The race for sheriff began crowded with five people running for office: incumbent Chris Francis (R), Anthony 'Tony' Roberson (R), James 'Aaron' Ellenburg (R), Steve 'Theo' Theodoropoulos (R), and Jason Wease (D). Before the primary election in May 2022, Tony Roberson registered to run unaffiliated,[11] and Chris Francis had dropped out of the race after successfully being elected three times.[3][12] Aaron Ellenburg won the Republican primary, beating out Theodoropoulos by 2,360 votes.[13][14][15] In the Democratic primary, Jason Wease won by default without opposition. Three candidates remained and were on the general election ballot: Aaron Ellenburg (R), Jason Wease (D), and Tony Roberson (U).[16][17]

After receiving unofficial final election night results from all county precincts, Aaron Ellenburg is the winner of the general election being more than 11,000 votes ahead of Jason Wease and more than 13,000 votes ahead of Tony Roberson.[18] Ellenburg will be sworn in as the 47th Sheriff of Rutherford County on Monday, December 5, 2022 and will serve until the end of the term on Monday, December 7, 2026 per North Carolina General Statute § 163-1.[2][19]

Former Sheriffs

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List of Former Sheriffs of Rutherford County, North Carolina[20]
Sheriff Term Began Term Ended Office Holder
Richard Singleton 1779 1781 1st
Andrew Hampton 1781 1784 2nd
John Lewis 1784 1787 3rd
Jonathan Hampton 1787 1788 4th
William Nevill 1788 1789 5th
James Withrow 1789 1790 6th
Robert Irvine 1790 1792 7th
Abram Irvine 1792 1795 8th
Daniel Camp 1795 1796 9th
James Boyle 1796 1798 10th
William Carson 1798 1809 11th
John Alley 1809 1814 12th
Frederick Alley 1814 1820 13th
Garland Dickerson 1820 1821 14th
William Carson 1821 1836 15th
William Wilkins 1836 1838 16th
James W. Carson 1838 1842 17th
William Wilkins 1842 1846 18th
M.O. Dickerson 1846 1848 19th
Madison Kilpatrick 1848 1856 20th
Andrew B. Long 1856 1860 21st
Martin Walker 1860 1872 22nd
John E. McFarland 1872 1878 23rd
Noah E. Walker 1878 1884 24th
John B. Blanton 1884 1888 25th
G.W. Long 1888 1892 26th
Ed Beam 1892 1894 27th
J.V. McFarland 1894 1898 28th
Elijah A. Martin 1898 1908 29th
C.E. Tanner 1908 1918 30th
James W. Beason 1918 1924 31st
W.C. Hardin 1924 1930 32nd
J. Ed McFarland 1930 1932 33rd
Charles C. Moore 1932 1934 34th
J. Ed. McFarland 1934 1936 35th
J. Cal Williams 1936 1938 36th
Charles C. Moore 1938 1946 37th
Vance Wilkins 1946 1958 38th
Damon Huskey[21] 1958 1970 39th
Blane Yelton 1970 1974 40th
Damon Huskey[21] 1974 1986 41st
Edgar Searcy[22] 1986 1990 42nd
Daniel J. Good 1990 2005 43rd
C. Philip Byers 2005 2006 44th
Jack L. Conner December 4, 2006 December 6, 2010 45th
Chris Francis December 6, 2010 November 30, 2022 46th

References

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  1. ^ "Sheriff". Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  2. ^ a b "The Office of Sheriff in North Carolina" (PDF). North Carolina Sheriff's Association. 2018. p. 5. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b Carpenter, Scott (January 28, 2022). "Sheriff Chris Francis will not seek re-election". The Daily Courier. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  4. ^ Mulliger, Alyssa (2 December 2014). "Sheriff, deputies take oaths of office". The Daily Courier. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  5. ^ Andrews, M (7 April 2011). "Rutherford County's Youngest Sheriff... A Dream Realized". Rutherford Weekly. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  6. ^ Gebelein, Michael (28 December 2016). "Pay for law and order: WNC salaries for sheriffs and registers of deeds". Carolina Public Press. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Divisions". Rutherford County, NC. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  8. ^ a b Kari, Barrows (19 October 2022). "Detention officers recognized for "heroic lifesaving actions" during overdose situation". WLOS ABC 13. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Nazelrod receives advanced professional certificate". Rutherford Weekly. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  10. ^ Saylor, Jennifer (25 July 2017). "Rutherford deputies ask for help identifying suspect in ATM break-in". WLOS ABC 13. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  11. ^ Carpenter, Scott (30 December 2021). "Sheriff's candidate Roberson will bypass primary". Rutherford Weekly. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  12. ^ Mulliger, Alyssa (5 November 2014). "Four more years for Francis". The Daily Courier. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  13. ^ Starnes, Ritchie (19 May 2022). "Ellenburg's maiden campaign nets GOP nomination". The Daily Courier. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  14. ^ https://cms6.revize.com/revize/rutherfordnc/document_center/Board%20of%20Elections/Historic%20Elections/County%20Canvass%20May%202022.pdf
  15. ^ Shaw, Amanda (17 May 2022). "ELECTION RESULTS: Voters decide 2022 NC Primary". FOX Carolina. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Aaron Ellenburg (Rutherford County Sheriff, North Carolina, candidate 2022)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  17. ^ https://ncsheriffs.org/wp-content/uploads/2022-Election-Chart.pdf
  18. ^ "11/08/2022 UNOFFICIAL GENERAL ELECTION RESULTS - RUTHERFORD". North Carolina State Board of Elections. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  19. ^ Starnes, Ritchie (9 November 2022). "Voters choose Ellenburg in 3 candidate race". The Daily Courier. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Former Sheriffs". Rutherford County, NC. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  21. ^ a b "Damon Huskey Obituary". The Charlotte Observer. 17 May 2004. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  22. ^ Gordon, Jean (25 June 2014). "Former sheriff Searcy dies at 75". The Daily Courer. Retrieved 8 November 2022.