District Attorney Ashley Welch filed a petition for Hoxit’s removal on Jan. 29, alleging Hoxit abused his power as his office built the case against County Commissioner Jacob Nelms, whose ex-wife Adarian Nelms had been in an on-and-off relationship with Hoxit since before he became sheriff. Hoxit was subsequently removed from office pending a superior court hearing to determine whether the removal should be permanent.

That hearing was held March 24-27, and Stetzer issued his ordered April 6. In the ruling, Stetzer wrote that “the Nelms investigation involved multiple acts of dishonesty.”

“These repeated bouts of dishonesty amount to willful misconduct,” it reads.

However, lawyer Stephen Lindsay, who sat alongside Hoxit and attorneys Mary Ann Hollocker and Keith Gregory throughout the hearing, told The Smoky Mountain News that his client takes issue both with the judge’s finding of facts and procedural issues that he’d previously used in a motion to dismiss the case. While Court of Appeals decisions can take several months, Lindsay said he hopes to see the matter expedited since it is uniquely time sensitive.

“It may be that the court will want to take it up more quickly because it has to do with a public official whose term in office is set to expire at the end of the year,” Lindsay said.

Check next week’s edition of the Smoky Mountain News for more details on Hoxit’s appeal, as well as interviews with District Attorney Ashley Welch and leadership from the North Carolina Sheriff’s Association.