photo by: Joselyn King

Incoming Ohio County Sheriff Nelson Croft, left, is sworn into office Friday as Deputy G.J. Costello watches.

WHEELING — The new Ohio County sheriff and his chief deputy are now officially sworn into office and ready to take over at the start of 2025.

Sheriff Nelson Croft and Chief Deputy Kent Lewis received their oaths from Circuit Judge Michael Olejasz Friday, and Croft noted he and Olejasz had known each other for nearly three decades.

“We spent 14 weeks together at the State Police Academy,” he said.

Croft said being sheriff was his goal since “day one.” He began his career in law enforcement in 1990 working at the former Ohio County Jail, and would go on to become a deputy in 1995.

“This is the completion of a 35-year dream and goal of mine,” Croft said. “We have been sworn in and take over Jan. 1, and it’s time to get down to business.

“I never gave up on that dream, and now here we are. I had a lot of help along the way.”

In February 2022, Croft retired as a deputy and took a job as director of the Ohio County Animal Shelter. He returned to the sheriff’s office last summer to become chief deputy under Sheriff Tom Howard after winning the Republican nomination for sheriff in May.

Howard served two four-year terms as sheriff and couldn’t seek re-election this year under West Virginia law. He will be sworn in as a new Ohio County Magistrate Monday morning.

Croft said his first priorities as sheriff will be tackling the local drug crisis, and “getting more deputies on the road.”

He asked county commissioners last week for permission to hire additional security guards for the City-County Building so that deputies would not be needed for this work and could be out on patrol.

“That’s going to be a big boost to our morale and our manpower,” he said.

There are also five additional vehicles on their way to the sheriff’s department, and Croft indicated he will have a plan to rotate them out on a regular basis.

“The patrol cars take a beating, and we have to keep replacing them,” he explained.

The new cars won’t go to him or his administrative officers.

“The administration will have cars, but we won’t have new cars. We will take cars already in existence,” Croft said. “We will put the new cars on the road for the deputies to use who need them more.”

Among those present in the courtroom Friday was Croft’s father Harry Croft, a retired sheriff’s deputy.

The elder Croft acknowledged that while in law enforcement he had spent many days in the same courtroom and had a lot of memories there.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in this courtroom, but I never thought I would be here for this,” he said. “This is probably the best time of all.

“You can’t help but be proud and thankful of what has got us here,” Harry Croft said. “I am very thankful, all my kids have turned out alright and I am thankful for that.”