Graham County Sheriff Brad Hoxit has been suspended from office following allegations of abuse of power and misconduct related to an insurance investigation into a county commissioner.
Under North Carolina law, an elected sheriff can be suspended and then removed only through a judicial process. The first step in the process is for a district attorney or county attorney or at least five voting residents in the county to file a petition to the court.
Ashley Hornsby Welch, the district attorney for the seven westernmost counties, including Graham, filed a petition on Jan. 29 alleging charges of intimidation, abuse of power, corruption and extortion.
If a sheriff is suspended, state law provides that the coroner of a county step in on the sheriff’s duties until the county commissioners can select a replacement.
What happened in Graham?
The Graham Star reported that the Graham County Board of Commissioners held an emergency meeting Friday and Chief Deputy Travis Brooks assumed the duties of sheriff.
The board also voted unanimously to suspend Hoxit’s pay, which totals $73,798 annually, according to The Graham Star.
The petition alleged that Hoxit “was having romantic relationship with Graham County Commissioner Jacob Nelms’s wife or estranged wife, Adrian Nelms.”
The details in the petition related to a criminal investigation of commissioner Nelms.
According to the document, Hoxit said he “stayed out of” the matter, but the petition alleged he interrupted “on several occasions to point out specific facts surrounding the investigation, making it apparent that the Defendant was very involved in the investigation.”
The petition cited allegations that the sheriff “engaged in an affair with Adrian Nelms while she was married to Jacob Nelms.”
The Nelms divorced in February 2025, and according to the documents, Hoxit and Adrian Nelms were in a romantic relationship and married in Transylvania County in August of the same year. According to an affidavit, Jacob Nelms said he believes his ex-wife and the sheriff have now separated.
In an affidavit, Jacob Nelms said a “tracking device” was placed on his car from Jan. 1, 2025, to May 31, 2025, through an “unlawfully obtained warrant.”
Nelms said the move was captured on video and that he believed the vehicle that approached his car belonged to Graham County Chief Deputy Brooks.
“I believe that Brad Hoxit is trying to destroy me personally and professionally in Graham County and I believe that he will stop at nothing to accomplish his goal,” Nelms swore in the affidavit.
According to the petition, Hoxit did not disclose the relationship, even to his attorney, because he was “was trying to get past the Primary to avoid the controversy.”
What’s next?
Hoxit will remain suspended until a court hearing at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 20, where a judge will determine if he should be removed.
Hoxit, an unaffiliated candidate, was elected in 2022 . The sheriff’s office is on the ballot for 2026. There are six Republican candidates for sheriff and one Democrat. Hoxit would not be listed on a Primary ballot as an unaffiliated candidate.
Nelms, a Republican, is running for re-election alongside nine other candidates for county commissioner.