This article is about the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina. For the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office in Tennessee, see Rutherford County Sheriff's Office.
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]
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.
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
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
List of Former Sheriffs of Rutherford County, North Carolina[20]
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