A New Sheriff In Town…..Voting 2022

Posted on October 1, 2022 by Deborah Keller

9/30/22

This November Rutherford County will have the opportunity to vote in a new Sheriff. Our current Sheriff Chris Francis after multiple incidences with the office decided not to run again. Sheriff Francis has been in office for twelve (12) years being elected in 2010 from a position as a School Resource Officer at age 36.

The three men who are running to replace him are Republican Aaron Ellenburg, Democrat Jason Wease, and Independent (Republican) Tony Roberson. Each man has his own unique reasons and qualifications for seeking this office.

We hear a lot about qualifications to run for Sheriff but according to the NC Constitution:

“Every qualified voter in North Carolina who is 21 years of age, except as in this Constitution disqualified, shall be eligible for election by the people to office. The following persons shall be disqualified for office: First, any person who shall deny the being of Almighty God. Second, with respect to any office that is filled by election by the people, any person who is not qualified to vote in an election for that office. Third, any person who has been adjudged guilty of treason or any other felony against this State or the United States, or any person who has been adjudged guilty of a felony in another state that also would be a felony if it had been committed in this State, or any person who has been adjudged guilty of corruption or malpractice in any office, or any person who has been removed by impeachment from any office, and who has not been restored to the rights of citizenship in the manner prescribed by law.”

Aaron Ellenburg, age 42 is currently working for NCDMV as an Enforcement Officer. He is based in Cleveland County now since filing to run for Sheriff required a transfer out of Rutherford County per department policy.

He worked for Forest City Police Department as a Patrol Officer from June -’00 -Jan. -’04. NC Certified Law Enforcement Instructor May -’07 – present. He worked with Rutherford County Sheriff Office from Jan. -’04 – Sept. -’05. He went to NCDMV in Oct. -’05 (current) working as a Vehicle, License, and Theft Investigator. Serving as Homeland Security Task Force Officer Mar. -’18 – current. Reserve Officer for Rutherfordton Police Dept. Nov. -’99 – Sept.-’02. Aaron was a graduate of RS Central High School in 1998 and received his BLET from Isothermal Community College in 1999.

“I think what stands out is I am willing to listen to the people, and work with them to make our county better. I don’t care if you are rich or poor I care about your life. It breaks my heart seeing our county the way it is. I want to improve community/police relations. I am running for Sheriff to make a positive change in our county and with your help we can do it.” –Aaron Ellenburg.

He has had twenty-two plus (22+) years working continuously in different areas of law enforcement. Aaron is married to his wife Nikki and they have six (6) children. Aaron has asked former Rutherfordton Police Chief and retired SBI Special Investigator Randy Greenway to be his Chief Deputy should he be elected.

Jason Wease, age 39 is currently the owner of Wease Enterprises in Mooresboro. He graduated from Chase High School. He has also been a lifetime resident of Rutherford County. Jason announced his run for Sheriff in 2013 after saying he was compelled to run by God. He has answered that calling faithfully.

“We have a huge drug problem in the county. If elected this would be my goal, to clean up this county. I feel that God has called me to serve as your next Sheriff. I am not a politician, but I am a man of God, and want to make Rutherford County the best place to live, work, and raise a family.” –Jason Wease .

He has no law enforcement background but is a successful businessman with management experience. He currently lives in Forest City with his wife Ashton and his 4 children. Jason has not shared whom his Chief Deputy would be should he win the office.

Tony Roberson, age 57 does not list any full time employment currently. He graduated from Chase High School and received training in law enforcement from Isothermal Community College.

Tony worked for Polk County Sheriff’s department the following dates. (per Polk County records). Full time as a Jailer May -’96-June -’96 then Deputy June -’96 until Sept. -’97 when he resigned, then part-time as March -’98 as a temp, then full time Patrol Officer Nov. -’98, then resigned full time May -’99. Then July -’99 as part time Jailer. Then Sept. -’99 went to full time Deputy. Then April -’00 became Deputy Sergeant, then May -’01 he resigned.

Became a Reserve Officer in August -’02. Then returned as part-time Jailer Nov. -’07, then goes full time as a Deputy Dec. -’07, Sergeant on Feb. -’08, joined Investigations, then May -’08 he become Lt. in Investigations , June -’08 Capt. of Patrol, July -’08 Chief Deputy, then Interim Sheriff on Nov. -’08, and involuntary termination by newly appointed Sheriff Nov. -’08.

This totals up to four and one-half (4-1/2) years full-time experience and six (6) years as a reserve office/part-time in law enforcement. There is no record of him being involved in active law enforcement for fourteen (14) years. He was running as a Republican but left his party after disagreement with their policies to run as an Independent/Unaffiliated Republican.

“Community policing is critical in attracting industry and greater economic opportunity to the county. I want to give companies greater incentive to establish business here, by providing a safer, more drug-free workforce. New business enterprises will not come to this county as long as it remains drug infested. I want to restore public trust in the Sheriff’s Department.”-Tony Roberson.

He currently lives in Rutherfordton with his wife Lisa. They both have children and been foster parents for over 16 years. Tony has asked formerly fired (see link for story/video) RC Sheriff’s Deputy Jamie Dunn to be his Chief Deputy should he be elected.

In this social media age of politics you may possibly see or hear many different things about each candidate. I suggest if you have questions or concerns to contact the candidates with them. Make your decisions based on facts not emotion.

Who do YOU think will do the better job of trying to straighten up the immense problems of the jail and the distorted perception of the Sheriff’s Office in this county? Who do YOU think can make a positive impact on the drug problems that plague our county?

This race is important to us all. Change must come and it will regardless of how you vote. Be a positive part of that change. Get involved and please go vote!

Early voting starts Oct. 20th and ends Nov. 5th. Early voters can vote in person at any authorized early voting site in the county. (County Annex on Main St. Rutherfordton and ICC) Vote in person is Nov. 8th. On Tuesday Nov. 8th you must vote in the precinct that you are registered in.

Jail Overdoses AGAIN…..How Many More Will Sheriff Frances Allow?

Posted on August 24, 2022 by Deborah Keller

8-23-2022

Rutherfordton- On Monday night four (4) people overdosed at Rutherford County Detention Center…..AGAIN. EMS was called and messages went out over social media. On Tuesday the Sheriff’s Department released the following Nixle statement concerning the incident at 1:24 pm.

“Detention Center Investigation”

“On August 22, 2022 an investigation revealed that a total of four inmate’s, at the Rutherford County Detention Center, overdosed on some type of narcotic. Three of the inmates were administered Narcan by officers and were transported to Rutherford Regional Medical Center where they were treated and released back into the custody of the Rutherford County Detention Center. The fourth inmate was administered Narcan on a precautionary status and remained at the Rutherford County Detention Center.

This investigation is still active and being conducted by investigators of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division to determine how the narcotics were brought in to the Detention Center.

Address/Location
Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office
198 N Washington St
Rutherfordton, NC 28139″

Many excuses have been given about these incidents, however excuses are running thin as it just keeps happening over and over again. It is time to stop making excuses and start doing something about this issue. We got lucky this time because no one died. How many more deaths will it take for something concrete to be done?

What will it take to shut down the jail until they can get a plan in place and some real oversight? The current administration says they are doing all they can. Obviously that is not enough. Is it going to take the death of an officer for them to open their eyes about the dangerous situation going on there? The death of inmates does not seem to be enough of a catalyst to change policy.

Who exactly is investigating the occurrences at the jail?

Is Sheriff Chris Francis actually investigating his own department?

How does that work? Not too well it seems.

Has there been any SBI investigations of previous overdoses and deaths? If so why have those results not been released?

It seems that the detention center has been operating with autonomy from Sheriff Francis’ oversight. They all tell each other what a good job they are doing yet people are overdosing and dying there. Change must happen.

Where is DA Ted Bell in all this? Is he not supplied with information as to what is happening? Crimes are obviously being committed but by whom? Are the drugs coming in from visitors or from staff? It is hard to tell when no one talks about it. Are there not cameras at the jail? Between weapons and drugs it seems to be a very dangerous place to work and it is no surprise that staff is afraid for their safety.

Why are inmates allowed to prepare food and serve it to the prisoners? They are considered trustees but with all this going on how can you trust any inmate? How hard would it be to slip drugs into food? At this point how can the public trust anything they are hearing?

I am heartsick over this as the entire community should be. Sheriff Francis is responsible for the safety and well being of those incarcerated under his watch. This negligence is a recurring theme for him. I know he is out of there as soon as the new Sheriff is sworn in but how many “incidents” will happen before then? If he can’t control it then shut it down until someone else can come in, or take it away from him and hire a consultant to run it until a new administration is appointed. Even after he leaves office he is still responsible for what happened during his tenure.

Something must be done. This is totally unacceptable.

Protecting Our Officers Or Protecting The System?

Posted on August 20, 2022 by Deborah Keller

8-20-22

The situation at the Rutherford County Jail does not seem to getting any better. What we do know is so small compared to what we don’t and even that is unacceptable.

Now not only are the staff and inmates in danger from low staffing levels and poor oversight, but reportedly SBI agent Cameron Spear during this recent investigation (after our last article) has made all staff there sign a nondisclosure agreement concerning the issues going on in the jail.

Now after contacting a former SBI agent, I was told that only in rare circumstances will they have officers sign a nondisclosure agreement during an investigation. Rare circumstances……

Not only are our jail officers in danger during their work shifts, but now they cannot bring attention to any of it. They are being made to bear their burdens in silence. Who is standing up for them?

Not the SBI, they made them sign the non-disclosure agreement.
Not the Sheriff, he has let them continue with substandard conditions and inadequate staffing for years.
Not District Attorney Ted Bell who routinely turned a blind eye to every issue at the jail.
Not the Rutherford County Commissioners who allocated money for needed repairs and staff and have not followed up to see that it was done. Jail inspection reports are copied to them when issued.
Who do we have to go to in order to get these issues addressed before an officer, inmate, or courthouse official gets seriously injured or even killed?

Our officers and even our inmates deserve better. When jail officials cannot even get deputies to come sweep the jail for weapons, what kind of message is that sending to the officers that work there?

If jail officials are offered money to turn the other way when contraband and drugs are coming into the jail, can we not understand what kinds of pressures they are working under? When inmates are allowed to do “rounds” for officers because they are too short staffed to do them themselves. (btw why would this even be allowed?) Low salary, low staffing, low morale, no support from the Sheriff who oversees them, how do we expect them to feel? Where is he in all this? Silence is not the way to handle this.

The conditions for the inmates are terrible as the inspections have shown and the improvements have not been made. Is the only reason our jail is still open because we house federal inmates there? Is it only open because the Sheriff and County can’t afford to not only lose revenue but have to pay for our inmates to be housed somewhere else? If so, how is that right? How much money is a life worth in Rutherford County?

We will have a new Sheriff after the November election, but in the meantime how many more will die before then. Our record here is not good, folks. We can’t wait for this to become someone else’s problem. It is our problem now!

It seems that people will have to contact Attorney General Josh Stein or the Federal Attorney for WNC Dena J. King to see if something can be done. The “good ole boy” network is strong and includes some members of the SBI here it seems. Yes, it has been going on for years and years, but it is time to stop.

If you know of something amiss at the jail or have concerns for an officer or inmate, please let me know at debkellercares@gmail.com. (All communication is confidential.)

The only way to fix this mess is to be open and transparent. We must shine a light on the problems in order to see how to properly fix them. Together we CAN do this.

I for one do not want to see any more deaths laid at the Sheriff’s door and certainly do not want to see any more cover-ups. My prayers are with them – all that work and are housed there.

4:48 For Ethan Calton…….A Mother’s Anguished Search For Answers – Column by Deborah Keller

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Deborah Keller

May 28, 2021

Yesterday I went to court to support Ethan Calton’s mother Gwynne Miller King in her quest for answers about her son’s death. After six months of asking both Sheriff Chris Francis and District Attorney Ted Bell to see the body cam footage of the death of her son by Officer Tyler Greene during an arrest she finally had no choice but to resort to legal action through the court.

Superior Court Judge William Wood presided over the hearing that asked for the video to be available to the family for viewing. Sheriff Francis told the judge that the SBI told him to withhold the video from the family during the investigation. Mrs. King who had been in frequent communication with the SBI officer involved in the case was never told by him that they were requesting that the video be withheld from her.

In the meantime, Sheriff Francis had done an on air news interview stating that Ethan Calton was aggressive with the three officers on the scene and “pulled” a gun on them during the arrest which resulted in his shooting death by Officer Greene. Witnesses on the scene disputed his statement saying that Ethan did not in fact even touch his gun. It was holstered on his hip. They said Officer Greene shot Ethan in the back killing him with one shot. After he fell, an officer removed the gun from the holster and placed it on the ground beside him.

Mrs. King continued to ask questions since the witnesses accounts differed so greatly from the Sheriff’s public statement and her son had made several statements before his death that certain Deputy’s were going to kill him. The Sheriff never at any time publicly admitted that Officer Greene had in fact shot Ethan in the back.

When the autopsy results came back the family then found that Ethan was not only shot in the back but it was at point blank range with the muzzle pressed so tightly against his back it bruised the skin and power residue was only found inside the wound. Again she asked to see the body cam footage and was denied and told that the SBI investigation was still on going. She point blank asked if in fact Ethan had pulled a gun on the officers why was the investigation taking so long and why could she not see the video?

It was at this point that the questions and doubts began to grow ever bigger. If this was a cut and dry defensive shooting by Officer Greene why was the investigation taking so long? If the body cam footage showed that why deny the family closure on these doubts? Why was Sheriff Francis apparently stonewalling the family? It was discovered by the family that Officer Greene had allegedly been involved in several other shootings with one surviving victim even talking to the family about it.

So many questions being left unanswered for Ethan’s mother and his family to try and live with. Weeks turned into months. Months of not sleeping, crying over the least little thing, begging God in prayer to help with answers and to bring peace to the family. Recently Ethan’s youngest child celebrated his first birthday. She knew she must act to either bring closure in this matter or to begin the long road for justice for Ethan. A lawsuit was filed for release of the video.

In court it was disclosed not only that the body cam footage was only four minutes and forty eight seconds (4:48) long but that the SBI had wrapped up their investigation and presented it to DA Ted Bell at two pm the previous afternoon before the hearing. The judge asked specifically if that was all the footage available from the three officers on the scene. Sheriff Francis said yes that only one officer had a body cam turned on and it was cut off when he entered the patrol car to call after the shooting occurred.

Ethan’s mother gasped as she realized how brief the video actually was. All this anguish and grief, silence and secrecy over four minutes and forty eight seconds? The county attorney Richard Williams asked the court for permission to blur or cover the faces of the officers and victim before the possibility of public release of the video if no charges were filed. The judge agreed to this.

He then stated that DA Ted Bell had until June 30th to have the video ready for public release and that he preferred for the family to see the video “sooner rather than later.” He read his ruling out loud in the courtroom and then gave written copies to Mr. Williams, Mr. Bell, and Mr. Labreche.

Ethan’s mother felt she was no closer to seeing the video than she had been but at least the DA knew he had a deadline to meet. She was hopeful that as hard as it would be to watch the death of her son on video it would at least provide some answers.

She has never tried to defend Ethan’s choices in life. She knew her son was flawed and that he had made several poor judgment calls in the past. She has never tried to paint him in any other light except for who he was to her. His criminal past being what it was he was still a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a friend, and however flawed, a beloved child of God and as such she feels that her questions should be answered.

Hopefully this will be resolved soon and she will either begin the long journey to peace or the long road for justice. Either way making a mother and a family suffer for this long and resort to the expense of legal representation for 4 minutes and 48 seconds of video that could clear all this up is cruel and unnecessary.

Legislators in Raleigh are trying to change the law to allow these video to be seen by the family in a timely manner. That being said it will not matter if our local law enforcement is not required to wear or turn on body cameras on all calls.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Ethan Calton who no matter the outcome have lost someone they loved very much in a very tragic way. I hope that DA Ted Bell will see fit to end this family’s anguish in Judge Woods words “sooner than later” but for now it continues to be sleepless nights and painful days for all who loved Ethan.

To watch video from WLOS concerning this story click here.