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Gerald Papazis

Sheriff Phil Redmond stated: On January 27, 2012 a report was filed with the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office in reference to a convicted sex offender having been at West Iredell Middle School during a wrestling practice.

The case was assigned to Detective Sergeant Leah Taylor of the Special Victims Unit.  Det. Sgt. Taylor gathered information from witnesses, who saw the suspect, Gerald Papazis 46, of 127 Idlebrook Ln. Statesville at West Middle School.

Detectives also confirmed Papazis had been found guilty of one count of Sex Offense in a Parental Role and 3 counts of Indecent Liberties with a Child on January 3, 2012 in Superior Court in Statesville. Based upon this information, Detectives were able to obtain a felony warrant for the suspect and charged him with one count of Sex Offender on a Child Premises.  Papzis was arrested on 01/31/2012 and was placed under 25,000.00 dollars secured bond and was placed in the Iredell County Detention Center.

Troy Lee Waters

Sheriff Redmond stated; on June 6th, 2011, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office received a report in reference to Obtaining Property by False Pretense.  Detective Sergeant Scott Maple of the Economic Crimes Unit was assigned the case.  The victims in this case states, that they had seen a hot tub for sale on Craigslist.  Upon further investigation, it was found that they had paid Mr. Waters $1,500.00 for the hot tub, which did not exist.  Based on the information provided, Detectives were able to obtain a warrant for arrest for Mr. Waters in reference to Obtaining Property by False Pretense.  Several attempts in various counties were made to locate Mr. Waters.  By November 2011, Detectives received calls from several victims in other counties across North Carolina as well as in Virginia and South Carolina which involved the sale of hot tubs.  The stories these victims told all sounded similar. Mr. Waters had been buying hot tubs from the people and writing them bad checks.  On January 27th, 2012, a press release was issued to the public asking for their assistance in locating Mr. Waters.  Within a few hours, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office received a tip through the Crime Stoppers hotline.   The information revealed Mr. Waters to be residing in Charlotte.  Detectives and Warrant Squad Deputies of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office coordinated their efforts with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and found the vehicle operated by Mr. Waters to be located at an apartment complex in South Charlotte.  On January 29th, after a weekend of surveillance, Mr. Waters was located and arrested for several outstanding warrants to include charges relating to Obtaining Property by False Pretense and probation violations.  Mr. Waters was placed in the Iredell County Jail and given a $225,000 secured bond.   For the crime committed in Virginia, a Fugitive warrant was issued and Mr. Waters received an additional $250,000 secured bond.  At this time Mr. Waters is being held under a $475,000 secured bond.

Raziel Austin Joshua Allison

Sheriff Phil Redmond stated; On 01/24/2012, Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded to numerous car breaking and entering cases in the area of Mt. Zion Dr. in Statesville.  Deputies found that 5 vehicles total had been entered.  During the same time frame Deputies also received a call for service in reference to a breaking and entering at Harmony Milling.  Upon the arrival of Deputies on the scene, they found that the suspect(s) had entered the business by breaking out a window.  Once inside, Deputies found that the cash register was missing and phone lines had been cut.  The alarm system had also been ripped from the wall.  Deputies called for assistance from Sheriff’s Office Detectives and Crime Scene Investigation.  A short time later, Det. Sgt. S. Hall and CSI (Crime Scene Investigations) Sgt. A. Taylor arrived on the scene.  Upon further investigation, a shoe impression was found outside the broken window point of entry and inside the business on paperwork that had been thrown from the counter.

Det. Sgt. Hall and Deputy Carl Adams then tracked the shoe prints to Lowery Livestock Feeds and found a break in at this location as well.  The shoe prints were also tracked to The Harmony Masonic Lodge #299 where it was found that this building had been broke into as well and the lodge ransacked.  Due to the quick response and thinking of Deputies and Detectives, these prints were preserved and the crime scenes were connected.

CSI Sgt. Taylor who works in the Sheriff’s Office Crime lab processed all the scenes and was able to make a mold of the shoe impressions as well as obtain print evidence inside Harmony Milling.

While this investigation was ongoing at the businesses, Deputy Gene Hayes obtained information of a possible suspect on Mt. Zion Dr. possibly involved in the vehicle breaking and entering cases.  The possible suspect was identified as Raziel Austin Joshua Allison 18, of, 149 Mt. Zion Dr. Statesville and relayed this information on to Sgt. Randy Cass.  Allison and another individual were located and interviewed.  Sgt. Cass, who had also knew about the business break-ins, observed mud on Allison’s shoes.  This information was passed on to Detectives.

Upon further investigation, Detectives followed up with Allison and his shoes were seized.  Detectives also found numerous inconsistencies with Allison and others involved stores.  Allison’s shoes were submitted to the Sheriff’s Office Crime lab for comparison.  CSI Sgt. Taylor and CSI Lt. J. Sutphin both processed evidence obtained from the scene and Allison’s shoes and were able to positively match Allison’s shoes to the impressions left behind at the scenes.  Further investigation also yielded that Allison had involvement in the motor vehicle break-ins on Mt. Zion Dr. Allison has been charged with 5 counts of breaking and entering to motor vehicle, 4 counts of breaking and entering and numerous larceny charges.  He is currently being held at the Iredell County Detention Center under at $20,000.00 bond.  This investigation is still ongoing and more charges are expected to be filed soon.

About the Sheriff

Phillip H. Redmond Iredell County Sheriff

Phillip H. Redmond has served as Sheriff of Iredell County since being elected in 1994. Sheriff Redmond began his career in Law Enforcement at the Iredell County Sheriff's Office in 1974. His first position with the office was as a Jailer. He was soon promoted to a Road Patrol position. He continued through the ranks, gaining experience in the Criminal Investigation Division and becoming a supervisor. He served as Chief Deputy under Sheriff Leroy Reavis. This experience greatly enhances his ability to direct the Sheriff's Office to fulfill its mission.

Sheriff Redmond is aggressive in his approach to fighting crime and the war on drugs. He has established new programs that have increased the Office's ability to respond and investigate crime. "As a father of four children, I have a strong personal conviction to work energetically to attack our country's drug problem", said Sheriff Redmond. "Our children are our most precious resource."

The Iredell County Sheriff's Office is committed to providing professional law enforcement services to the citizens and visitors in Iredell County.

Sheriff Phil Redmond became Iredell County’s Sheriff in 1994 and has 36 years law enforcement experience.

First and foremost, Sheriff Redmond’s number one priority is to keep the citizens of Iredell County safe.

Sheriff Redmond is leading his office in a rapidly growing County, divided by two major Interstate Highways, I-77 and I-40. Those major highways bring people through our county daily. Some of those people transport large quantities of illegal drugs, stolen property or other contraband. The Sheriff’s “Interstate Criminal Enforcement Team” has been a powerhouse in curtailing those illegal activities, seizing large sums of money and large quantities of illegal drugs. With those seizures, Drug Interdiction Funds have been made available to further expand the work being done by Sheriff Redmond and the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Redmond is onboard with E.P.I.C. (El Paso Intelligence Center) which tracks drug traffickers from the borders of Mexico into the United States. Out of a 15-member board of directors, our office holds one of those positions.

Sheriff Redmond implemented the A.C.E. (Aggressive Criminal Enforcement) unit to focus on street level drug dealers and other problem areas in the county.  Drug Interdiction Funding has brought about even more sophisticated technology and equipment to be used in the fight against crime throughout our county. Since Sheriff Redmond has been in office, his officers has taken more than $170 million in drugs and more than $7 million in cash from the drug dealers in, or coming through Iredell County.

As Sheriff Redmond is looking forward to the future of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office he will continue to pursue the drug runners, dealers and users in and through Iredell County.

During Sheriff Redmond’s 16 years as Sheriff in Iredell County, many strides have been taken and many hurdles jumped to bring the Sheriff’s Office into the 21st century.

Some of the accomplishments Redmond has made as Sheriff include adding MDT (mobile data terminals), in car cameras, 800mhz radios with statewide coverage, additional (K-9 units) to the force to make it easier for officers to communicate, document and apprehend criminals for successful prosecution in our courts. Redmond has worked with County Commissioners to install a new Sheriff’s sub-station in the Iredell County Government Center South, located in Mooresville. This sub-station allows citizens of the southern end of the County to conduct business with the Sheriff’s Office, such as reporting crimes, gun permits, fingerprints for employment etc.

Many more accomplishments and plans are being made for the upcoming years.

As Iredell County continues to experience rapid growth, the Sheriff has continued to meet that growth with his vision and planning for his first-class Sheriff’s Office and specially trained employees, and continues to be on top in his field. 

Sheriff Redmond has provided thousands of hours training each year for his deputies at a level never before available to the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, and has provided technology similar to that seen in television programming, such as “C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigation)”. Such training is a must in today’s law enforcement world. Redmond is continually seeking grant funding to house a central criminal evidence processing center where fingerprints, blood, DNA, drugs and other evidence can be processed in our county. Now the SBI lab is backlogged more than a year-and-a- half on processing evidence submitted.

Through the efforts of Sheriff Redmond, our website has been made available to the public.  www.iredellsheriff.com.  is the site where all types of information and links to access law updates and specifics to the laws of North Carolina are made available to the public. This site provides various topics of information on the work of the Sheriff’s Office and is available 24 hours a day.

A recap of accomplishments through Sheriff Redmond’s tenure, we should start with the stand he took against a Judge in our district that had attempted to take the word “God” out of the courtroom. Sheriff Redmond took a stand when most political figures would not. He took a stand on the beliefs in which our forefathers stood when writing the constitution for our Country.

During the last 16 years Sheriff Redmond’s office was recognized for presenting the most federal drug charges in our 31-county district, by the US attorney’s office.

He was the 2nd in the state to implement the Sex Offender Watch Program where citizens of Iredell County can go on-line and check for registered sex offenders within one mile of their residence; this service is available 24 hours a day. He also has two full-time detectives that check the status of sex offenders in the county by personally checking their current residence and keeping track of where and when they move. Sheriff Redmond has worked with NC House members and the General Assembly on making Sex Offender laws to where sex offenders that move into our State from other areas are required to register as a sex offender in our State.

During the past 8 years Sheriff Redmond sought grant monies to fund the C.O.P.s (Community Oriented Police) unit in the Brawley School, Langtree Rd areas as well as Perth Rd, Hwy 21 South sections of Iredell County where growth is overwhelming. These units are designed to provide quality service, quicker response and community-oriented deputies to their areas of the county. Due to the rapid growth in both population and traffic, Sheriff Redmond and the citizens in those areas are working together in an effort to accomplish a common goal of community safety and awareness.

In the C.O.P.s area 9 officers are assigned to bike, motorcycle and road patrol and Lake Enforcement to assure all areas are served.

Sheriff Redmond has expanded his emphasis on proactive crime prevention by expanding the G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training) program into the 6th grade in an effort to reduce gangs in Iredell County. He has also implemented programs where the S.R.O.s (School Resource Officers) are in all the High Schools, Middle schools and the Monticello Alternative School in the county. Now those schools have more resources for being in the classrooms talking to students about safety, traffic laws and general safety issues without taking away from their core curriculum. He also has K-9 officers to make random checks through the schools to curtail weapons and drugs on campus.

Sheriff Redmond has worked with the State and has been able to lease the 21 North Prison Camp for $1 per year, to alleviate the overcrowding at our current site, saving the taxpayers money on new construction.

Sheriff Redmond has implemented a disaster mobilization plan for the Sheriff’s Office, where in the event of a major disaster in the county, Deputies know where they are to report and be stationed. With our mobile command post we can maintain 911 service, as well as communication with the field officer and other agencies while maintaining quality service to the community. With other disasters such as tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters, Sheriff Redmond has implemented a disaster relief unit comprised of both sworn and non-sworn staff that is ready to respond with debris removal, generators and other implements to open the roads quicker and assist in recovery efforts. He has used drug seizure monies to build an airplane hangar for the Civil Air Patrol where we would have immediate access to air support for recovery efforts in the event of a disaster or emergency. All the equipment was paid for by drug-seized monies.

Sheriff Redmond has successfully implemented a special victims unit  to aid in the investigation and provides needed assistance for the victim and prosecution of the offender.

Nationally 50.3% of violent crimes and 20.2% of property crimes are cleared by arrest.

Sheriff Redmond’s statistics far exceed the national average. In 2004 the Sheriff’s Office cleared 82% of the violent crimes and 35% of the property crimes, which well exceeds the national average and is competitive with surrounding agencies in the clearance of violent crimes but far exceeds their numbers in property crime clearance rates.

Sheriff Redmond is continuing to search for new ideas and technologies to serve the citizens of Iredell County in the philosophy of Community Policing, where together we can make a difference in our communities.

2009 alone I have expanded the Interstate Criminal Enforcement (ICE) unit in order to have deputies locating drug dealers and users traveling along our Interstates and Highways. I have also added 2 deputies through grant funding in an effort to work with the communities in the southern end of the county to reduce traffic issues and make our roads safer.

Sheriff Redmond used $513,000.00 of asset forfeiture monies to purchase 15 new vehicles for our Office to replace those that have excessive mileage on them. I will also use forfeiture monies to enhance our Crime Lab to process evidence quicker and put the suspects in jail in a timely manner.

Sheriff Redmond over the last year worked with other law enforcement agencies such as Statesville Police combining forces to enhance the counties fight against domestic violence, gangs and drug interdiction and make Iredell county a safer place to live. We also have mutual aid agreements with other counties in the state to follow up on Drug trafficking and other major crimes.

In 2010 Sheriff Redmond plan’s to expand the Community Policing program where a deputy will be trained and placed in each section, possibly areas where they live, to work with communities in their area in reducing crime and working on strategies to make our county safe. We currently have this program Troutman South and it has been a success.

Sheriff Redmond is now the longest consecutive term Sheriff in the History of Iredell County.

Sheriff Redmond is working to make Iredell County the safest place in which to live, work and raise a family or operate a business.

Mission Statement

We are committed to making our County a safe place to live, raise a family, to be employed, to worship and to enjoy recreation.

OUR MISSION is to provide law enforcement services to the citizens of Iredell County, serving our community through crime prevention, drug enforcement, aggressive patrols and education.

The Iredell County Sheriff's Office exists to serve all people within our jurisdiction with respect, fairness and compassion. To fulfill our mission, the Iredell County Sheriff's Office is dedicated to providing a quality work environment and the development of its members through effective training, leadership and career development.

OUR PRINCIPLES are:

• Upholding the Constitution of the United States of America and the State of North Carolina.
• Respecting the rights of all individuals through ethical and humanitarian principals.
• Commitment to integrity and reliability.
• Recognizing the importance of each individual employee.
• Maintaining a work environment where employees can grow professionally.
• Remembering that through the Iredell County Sheriff's Office, we work for all of the citizens of Iredell County.

Administrative Staff

Phillip H. Redmond, Sheriff

Rick Dowdle, Chief Deputy

Captain Clarence Harris, Narcotics/ I.C.E. / A.C.E.

Captain Harold Miller, Patrol Division / Criminal Warrant Service Unit

Captain Mike Phillips, Crime Scene Tech

Captain Bert Connnolly, Detention / Court Bailiff’s

Captain Darren Campbell, Criminal Investigations, Community Policing, Lake Enforcement

Captain Marty Byers, Training / Personnel / K-9

Captain Julie Gibson, Domestic Violence, Juvenile crimes, Special Victims Unit

Captain Rick Eades, Detention Training & Personnel, Crime Prevention, School Resource, Public Relations

Contact Information

Please contact the Iredell County Sheriff's Office if you have questions or concerns about law enforcement related issues in Iredell County. You may also contact us if you have information related to a crime in Iredell County. All information provided will remain anonymous. 

Electronic mail Information
icsoinfo@co.iredell.nc.us 

Breaking News | About the Sheriff | Mission Statement | Staff | Contact Info