Andrews – While the District Attorney’s Office may be at odds with the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, it had nothing but praise for former Cherokee County deputy Caleb Stiles, who is now chief of the Andrews Police Department.
John Hindsman Jr. is the senior assistant district attorney for the 43rd Prosecutorial District, which includes the five western-most counties in North Carolina, including Cherokee. Hindsman attended the April 24 Andrews Board of Aldermen meeting to compliment Stiles and his department for the good job they are doing with arrests and the paperwork that results.
“They are doing a fantastic job,” Hindsman said. “They’re making good arrests, fantastic reports – they make our job easier.”
Hindsman’s boss, District Attorney Ashley Welch, was called as a witness in a federal civil lawsuit filed by a Bear Paw couple whose house was shot up by members of the Cherokee Tribal Police SWAT team. The SWAT team was summoned by Cherokee County sheriff’s Lt. Sport Teasdale, but Welch later filed a declaration under subpoena alleging that Teasdale’s information was false.
Earlier this month, Welch sought a court order barring sheriff’s office access to its own evidence room after Welch learned that at least one item of evidence was missing and that an audit conducted just before Dustin Smith became sheriff also revealed missing evidence.
The Andrews Police Department has had its own turmoil, at one point nearly losing its entire force to resignations and at another point having its chief named as a suspect in a fraud case involving courses he received payment for but did not teach. In the meantime, Stiles was named chief, and he has since filled all vacancies and earned a reputation for the department for being tough on crime.