Politics

Hendersonville native is holding sheriffs to account in WNC

By Mackenzie Thomas, Carolina Public Pres, Published: April 22, 2026

A series of alleged misconduct and removal cases within the past year involving Western North Carolina sheriffs has been making waves in the state’s mountain counties due to their rare occurrence, with the district attorney saying she’s “not seen it like this before.”

The cases in question involve sheriffs from Swain, Graham and Cherokee counties, which are adjacent along the southern portion of the state line with Tennessee.

Curtis Cochran, former sheriff of Swain County, was arrested in June 2025 and is facing charges for sexual battery and assault on a female, among other things. His next court date is April 29 in Swain Superior Court, according to the Swain County clerk’s office, followed by an appearance in tribal court scheduled for June 8, according to Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians tribal court records.

Brad Hoxit, former sheriff of Graham County, was allegedly involved in an active criminal investigation involving Graham County Commissioner Jacob Nelms, despite a conflict of interest that he failed to disclose while trying to obtain search warrants. After he was removed as the county’s sheriff on April 6, he filed a notice of appeal on Monday, according to court records.

Dustin Smith, former sheriff of Cherokee County, allegedly had complaints from citizens brought against him for misconduct and negligence while in office, according to a letter from the district attorney.

Ashley Welch, district attorney for the state’s 43rd prosecutorial district, said she’s never seen anything like it.

“I’ve been a prosecutor for 23 years. I’ve been the DA since early 2015 and I’ve not seen it like this before,” Welch said. “But when you see it, you’ve got to do something about it.”

Removing NC sheriffs

A native of Hendersonville, daughter of Jackie and Dr. Ty Hornsby and graduate of East Henderson High School, Welch has been at the center of the effort under the law to hold the sheriffs to account. She initiated removal proceedings for the sheriffs in Swain and Graham counties, and insinuated that she would do the same for Smith in Cherokee County if he didn’t resign first. Cochran retired before a ruling was made in his case but still faces criminal charges in Swain County and from the Cherokees-. Removal proceedings never began for Smith because he resigned after receiving a letter from Welch.

Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president and general counsel for the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, said the district attorney is usually the one to initiate removal proceedings in cases like these.

“The law allows either the district attorney or the county attorney to initiate the proceedings, and in most cases, it’s the district attorney,” he said. “I’ve been representing the Sheriff’s Association for 30 years, and during my career, all the ones that I can remember related to criminal activity.”

Caldwell said the district attorney begins proceedings by filing a petition for removal. That petition is served to the sheriff, and may also include a motion for summary suspension, which immediately removes the sheriff from office pending a final decision in the case, if the district attorney feels like the situation is urgent enough. A superior court judge will suspend the sheriff from office, and then one of two things happens: either the sheriff resigns or retires before proceedings are underway, or they move forward with hearings and fight the removal.

Caldwell said hearings in these cases are considered “exceptionally rare.” While he can’t definitively say why sheriffs resign, he said cases involving allegations of criminal activity typically result in a criminal conviction.

“It’s pretty clear to say that those that resign prior to a hearing do that because they know that they’ve done what they’ve been accused of,” Caldwell said. 

Uncertainty around removal of sheriffs

Because of the rarity of these types of cases, it can create procedural uncertainty when moving forward with hearings, as in Hoxit’s case. Mary Ann Hollocker, one of Hoxit’s attorneys, said as the statute reads now, it’s “not difficult” to remove sheriffs.

“We need guidance,” Hollocker said. “One of the issues we had at trial was, when they say it’s not criminal, it’s not civil, then what rules apply? Criminal rules of procedure, civil rules of procedure, are we entitled to discovery? Because that’s what you get in a civil case or a criminal case. But if it’s not either of those, then what is it?”

Welch said she hopes to send a message by holding these sheriffs accountable.

“Power can be checked, and there are ways that it can be outside of the voting process,” she said. “At least in this district, I want the people to know that I will do my job in making sure that the people in positions of power are held accountable.”

Though all the cases come from the far western part of the state that makes up her district, Welch said she doesn’t believe it’s indicative of any pattern with sheriffs in the region, as each case is unrelated and has its own specific set of circumstances.

Swain County

Cochran was first arrested on June 27, 2025, and now faces charges for sexual battery, assault on a female, solicitation of prostitution and felonious restraint. These alleged crimes occurred in his police vehicle and involved two different women, taking place a few days prior on June 22 and 23, according to court records.

Cochran’s arrest was immediately followed by a petition for removal and a motion to suspend from Welch. The motion to suspend was granted, and hearing dates for both the suspension and removal were set for the following month, according to court records.

“Defendant Curtis Cochran has shown on multiple occasions that he is willing to misuse the power and authority inherent to the office of Sheriff for improper and criminal personal gain,” the petition said. “He has used his office and power as the Sheriff to get at least two women to trust him, get in the car with him looking for help, only to be sexually assaulted.”

However, Cochran resigned from his position as sheriff effective July 1, before his suspension hearing on July 7 and removal hearing on July 21. His resignation halted the removal case, but Cochran still has to answer for the criminal charges brought against him, which are being handled by the state. If he ever decides to return to office, the state can file a new petition for removal based on the same charges, according to court records.

While facing charges for sex crimes from the state, he’s also facing charges for abusive sexual contact and oppression in office from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, according to state and tribal court records.

For the charges from EBCI, Cochran has pleaded not guilty, according to tribal court records. The former sheriff hasn’t entered a plea yet for the state charges, according to the Swain County clerk’s office.

His most recent court appearance in Swain County was on Dec. 17, according to the Swain County clerk’s office. His most recent appearance in tribal court was slotted for Feb. 17, but his attorney, Jack Stewart, filed a motion for continuance excusing him for reasons related to “age and poor health.”

Stewart couldn’t be reached for comment by Carolina Public Press before publication.

Cochran’s next hearing in Swain Superior Court is scheduled for April 29, and his next tribal court hearing has been tentatively scheduled for June 8.

Graham County

Welch filed a petition for removal of Hoxit on Jan. 29 for misconduct and corruption while serving in office, according to court records.

Hoxit was involved in a criminal investigation into Graham County Commissioner Jacob Nelms by actively trying to secure search warrants for his car trackers and cellphones, even while Hoxit had a conflict of interest by being romantically involved with the commissioner’s then-wife, Adrian Nelms. Hoxit did not disclose the conflict of interest to Welch and others while trying to obtain the warrants, the petition said.

Hoxit ultimately married Nelms in August 2025 after she had divorced Nelms six months earlier. In a January meeting with Welch, Hoxit claimed he didn’t disclose his relationship with Nelms because his lawyer, David Wijewickrama, told him he didn’t have to, but Wijewickrama denied telling him this. By this time, Hoxit also claimed his marriage with Adrian Nelms was “over,” because he refused to step back from the investigation into Jacob Nelms, the petition said.

Ultimately, Hoxit was removed from office as sheriff after a hearing on April 6. But he’s not giving up anytime soon, having just filed a notice of appeal on Monday.

Hollocker said they don’t agree with the final ruling due to some “procedural problems” in the case. One problem was the lack of a summons with the verified complaint, which they argued failed to grant the court the authority to hear the case under subject-matter jurisdiction, but the court disagreed. Other problems included testimony they believed was insufficient for removal and an overall lack of guidance on the removal statute.

Another complicating factor was the speed of the process since it involved an elected official, she said. 

We had about three weeks to prepare,” Hollocker said. “Usually, you have much longer time to prepare for a trial. We had three attorneys working on this and several assistants to get us ready to go to trial.”

Hollocker said they believe they have a “very good chance” of being successful in the appeal, which was filed Monday.

Cherokee County

Welch sent a letter to Smith on Jan. 28 outlining concerns she had about his work over the past three years he’s been in office. Among the concerns she shared in the letter were alleged complaints she received from citizens about misconduct and negligence by Smith. Welch also referenced a shooting in 2022 of an unarmed man while Smith was sheriff.

“Recently, I received all the discovery in the Kloepfer shooting including the SBI criminal investigation and civil discovery. Before then, I did not have the complete file,” Welch wrote. “I am gravely concerned about the inactions and statements made by you surrounding the shooting.”

In closing, Welch implied in her letter that if Smith didn’t step down, she would move forward with removal proceedings. 

“My hope is that you will recognize the harm that is being done and that you will make the decision to resign,” Welch wrote. “Your oath requires you to put the needs of your community above yourself. Resigning allows you to do the right thing and prevent a removal petition that lists all the evidence and proof into the public record.”

On Feb. 5, Smith announced his resignation in a Facebook post on his re-election campaign page, which would take effect the following day. He wrote that he came to the decision after prayer and reflecting on the “real toll” his time in office took on his family and himself. 

“I believe my role was to serve as a transition sheriff — to make difficult changes, to navigate hard seasons, and to help steady the ship so that those who come next can continue building on a strong foundation,” Smith said in the post. “At this point in my life, I believe God is calling me to focus on my family and the next chapter ahead.”

Smith’s time as sheriff followed the controversial tenure of Derrick Palmer, who faced allegations of serious problems at the county jail brought to light by a CPP investigation, a major wrongful death lawsuit settlement over an inmate who died at the jail, and the felony conviction of his wife, Cindy Palmer, for misconduct while she was serving as the county’s social services director. 

CPP reached out to Smith directly by phone, but he did not respond to a request for comment.

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Mackenzie Thomas is a Carolina Public Press staff writer who reports on issues of government accountability and transparency. Email mthomas@carolinapublicpress.org to contact her.