# 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. Additionally, the Rutherford County Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer of the county. The current sheriff is republican Aaron Ellenburg. In 2016, the sheriff's salary was set at $82,555.

## Organizational Structure

Divisions and units of the Sheriff's Office.
* 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

The current rank structure used by the sheriff's office had been in effect since January 2023.
| Rank | 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 | Supervises a unit or crew. | Silver |
| Corporal | Serves as a school resource officer or supervisor in a unit. | Silver |
| Deputy / Detective / Detention Officer | 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, and Chris Francis had dropped out of the race after successfully being elected three times. Aaron Ellenburg won the Republican primary, beating out Theodoropoulos by 2,360 votes. 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).
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. 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.

## Former Sheriffs

List of Former Sheriffs of Rutherford County, North Carolina :
| 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 | 1958 | 1970 | 39th |
| Blane Yelton | 1970 | 1974 | 40th |
| Damon Huskey | 1974 | 1986 | 41st |
| Edgar Searcy | 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 |