Newton County Sheriff Ezell Brown has formally announced his command staff which will help the citizens identify those people at the NCSO whom they can go to should they need assistance in any specific area. It will also allow the new sheriff to have a group of people he can rely on to carry things through.

"It's very important to have someone you can rely on," Brown said. "It's not that I don't have the utmost confidence in our other officers but it is someone that you can, for lack of a better expression, hold their feet to the fire to ensure the day-to-day operations and the vision for your community is carried out so that we can continue to deliver and to have a positive impact on the community and in the sheriffs office. It is very important to be able to delegate and to know that things are being carried through."

Chief Deputy
Jerry Carter has been with the NCSO since Jan. 19. He was the chief investigator with the public defender's office for six years and with the Covington Police Department for 18 years. He has been in law enforcement for a total of 24 years. He is the second in command after the sheriff.

Captain in charge of Criminal Investigations Division
Marty Roberts has been with the NCSO and in law enforcement for 25 years. He is in charge of CID.

Captain in charge of Uniform Division
Morris Jones has been with the NCSO for 34 years and in law enforcement since 1973. He is in charge of the NCSO road deputies.

Captain in charge of Detention Administration
Sammy Banks has been with the NCSO for four years and has been in law enforcement for 27 years. He is in charge of the jail.

Captain in charge of Court Services
Doug Kitchens has been with the NCSO for 28 years and with law enforcement for 31 years. He is in charge of security of the courthouse and administration building and historical courthouse.

First Lieutenant Executive Officer of Uniform Officer and Public Information Officer
Mark Mitchell has been in law enforcement for 17 years and with the NCSO the entire time. He is in charge of the NCSO road deputies. He is also the public information officer and provides information to the media.

Lieutenant in charge of Professional Standards
Keith Crum has been with the NCSO for 16 years and in law enforcement for 35 years. He is in charge of internal affairs.

Lieutenant in charge of Civil Division
Gary Bradford has been with the NCSO for 21 years and in law enforcement for 28 years. He is in charge of civil paperwork such as evictions and lawsuits. He is also in charge of organizing NCSO participation in funeral processions.

Lieutenant in charge of Agency Training
Paul Gunter has been with law enforcement for 30 years. He is in charge of agency training and is a P.O.S.T. (peace officer standards and training) certified instructor. He is also a chaplain.

Lieutenant in charge of School Resources
Charles Ledford has been with the NCSO for 22 years and in law enforcement for 24 years. He is in charge of providing the Newton County schools with resource officers and in charge of dealing with situations which may arise at the schools.

Secretary
Juanita Threadgill has been with the NCSO for 21 years. She serves as secretary and also answers general questions from the public and directs callers to the appropriate person.