Brad Hoxit
* Conclusion of a 2-part report
Robbinsville – District Attorney Ashley Welch filed a 53-page petition for removal and motion to immediately suspend Graham County Sheriff Brad Hoxit from office Jan. 29. The latter was affirmed just one hour and 17 minutes after the filing by Superior Court Judge Tessa Sellers.
The Graham County Board of Commissioners held an emergency meeting Jan. 30 and voted to suspend Hoxit's pay – which was an annual salary of $73,798 – and appointed chief deputy Travis Brooks to assume the duties and responsibilities of the office of sheriff. Brooks does not hold the position officially, however; a decision about the role will become clearer following a hearing in Graham County Superior Court at 10 a.m., Friday, Feb. 20.
Welch's civil suit documents a timeline from August to present day, alleging Hoxit's quest to pursue charges against Graham County Commissioner Jacob Nelms. Hoxit met with Welch in August, just six days after marrying Nelms' former wife; yet, did not disclose the relationship to the district attorney.
According to the filing, when Hoxit was informed that Welch knew about the relationship during a meeting held in Macon County last month, Hoxit seemingly contradicted himself by saying he would no longer continue the investigation – but would also "not bend" on the case. Welch alleges that Hoxit made phone calls after the meeting that indicated he wished to continue the investigation into Nelms and even went directly against orders she handed
down during the meeting.
The filing also includes sworn affidavits linked to the case that are signed by Nelms, former detention officer Vanessa Jenkins and former chief deputy Cody George.
A deep dive into the meetings with Welch and Nelms' affidavit appeared in the Feb. 5 edition of The Graham Star, and can now be read online by visiting grahamstar.com; this week's report is the conclusion of The Star's analysis of the filing, with the following information summarized directly from the document.
Extortion
The filing states that Vanessa Carpenter served as a Graham County Detention Officer from 2016-20, then re-joined the staff in 2022 until her resignation in July 2025. From 2020-21, she worked as a victim's advocate for the sheriff's office.
In her affidavit, she says her reason for resigning was due to the conditions in the jail being "deplorable" and the low pay – two things she states Hoxit knew.
Carpenter says Hoxit asked her to set up a fake email address, deecarter@aol.com, to obtain public records concerning Nelms and Graham County Commissioner Meggan Smith. She then requested W-2s, 1099s and inspection reports on Nelms.
"At the time Hoxit requested me to obtain this information, I was not sure how it would be used, but I believed it was to obtain information that would help with the jail funding," Carpenter says in the affidavit.
Carpenter later learned the nature of Hoxit's relationship with Nelms' ex-wife. She states that Hoxit told her "on several occasions" that if Carpenter ever informed anyone about the fake email address and what they were being used for, she "would never work in law enforcement again." She states that Hoxit told her this "several times" from May-October 2025.
More troubling is Carpenter's sworn statement about an undated incident involving an inmate at the Graham County Detention Center. Hoxit had told Carpenter he wanted the unnamed inmate to be a "narc," but the inmate told Carpenter he did not want to provide the information because he was "scared."
Hoxit was said to have picked up a Taser before the inmate was brought to the detention center office and said, "I want to provoke him so I can tase him," before looking at Carpenter and reiterating, "If you breath a word about this, you will never work in enforcement again."
Carpenter said Hoxit did not tase the inmate, but had the inmate placed in lockdown when he refused to provide information to Hoxit.
Carpenter's affidavit ends with a simple sentence: "I am scared of Hoxit."
Intimidation
George is now running for sheriff, but his October resignation as second-in-command left a lot of residents wondering what happened.
His affidavit clears up the confusion, beginning with his discovery of the Nelms investigation in August.
Shortly after Hoxit told George about the investigation, George learned of Hoxit's marriage to Nelms' former spouse – and that Hoxit wanted Nelms' cell phone records printed out from the search warrant executed during Nelms' visit with a North Carolina Department of Insurance agent. George said that Det. Larry Jenkins had pointed out how much paper that would use, but George observed Jenkins and Brooks arrive at the sheriff's office several days later with a pick-up truck full of printer paper and carry it to the investigative offices.
On Oct. 6, Hoxit said that he wanted George to run for sheriff, but he expected George to "stand behind" the Nelms investigation. During the same conversation, Hoxit said he had heard that George had "physically assaulted" his wife, but not to discuss it with anyone.
"This is not true," George said in the affidavit.
George went home and told his wife about the allegation.
"My wife was very upset with Hoxit about these allegations and stressed that they were not true," said George.
Hoxit called George the next day and was upset, saying when "he says to not talk to someone that is what he means."
George said he would resign, but Hoxit asked him not to and again reiterated that he wanted George to run for sheriff. Hoxit called George on Oct. 9 and said Hoxit had decided to run for sheriff, and that George needed to "get on board."
George and Hoxit spoke on the phone Oct. 12 and agreed to meet at the sheriff's office for a discussion at 8 a.m., the following day. George arrived at 8 a.m., and waited until 10 a.m., but Hoxit never arrived.
George then cleared out his office and went home to clean out his patrol car, planning to resign. While at home, Hoxit arrived in his personal vehicle. Hoxit asked for George to get in the car to ride and the two spent a lengthy amount of time on the road.
During the ride, George told Hoxit he was frustrated about the meeting falling through. Hoxit said he was talking to a citizen on Yellow Creek Road about his re-election bid.
Hoxit then informed George that he "needed" George to tell people that the sheriff's office had received complaints about Nelms about building inspections and that the office had turned the investigation over to the Department of Insurance.
"I did not know of any complaints that Hoxit was referring to," George said. "I told Hoxit I had a real problem with the Nelms investigation and did not like that he had kept it from me."
Hoxit said that he had kept it from George to "protect" him, which led George to ask Hoxit to take him home. Hoxit said they needed to talk more. George asked again and Hoxit refused again. George continued to ask to be taken home and Hoxit finally relented, but wanted to talk in the car in George's driveway.
"I realized Hoxit was not going to accept my resignation, so I just told him that I agreed to stay," George said. "Hoxit asked me if I would be at work the next day."
George said he turned in his resignation letter the following day.