Here's why a small-town sheriff in North Carolina was forced to resign

 The elected sheriff of Cherokee County is resigning, days after the district attorney formally asked him to step aside, citing what she described as years of negligence, misconduct complaints, and lost public trust.

District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch sent a letter to Sheriff Dustin Smith on January 28th calling for him to resign.

In the letter, Welch said citizens had raised repeated concerns over what she called 'willful or habitual negligence, refusals to perform duties of the office, and maladministration.'

Welch wrote that after reviewing discovery related to the 2022 shooting of an unarmed man in Murphy, including an SBI criminal investigation and civil discovery, she became 'gravely concerned' about Smith’s actions and statements surrounding that case.

She also cited what she called 'an evidence room catastrophe,' inactions involving Sport Teasdale, and the murder of Detention Officer Francisco Flattes by an inmate who had escaped from the Cherokee County jail months earlier.

The letter goes on to say Welch has concerns Smith did not follow judges’ requests limiting how many inmates were brought to the courthouse at one time, raising safety issues. She wrote that the cumulative impact has eroded confidence in the sheriff’s office, harmed morale within the department, and negatively affected the administration of justice.

Welch said her request was made on behalf of the citizens of Cherokee County and warned that resignation would prevent a removal petition that would place evidence and proof into the public record.

After the letter became public, Smith announced on Thursday that he will not seek reelection and will retire effective February 6th, 2026. In a statement posted to the Re Elect Sheriff Dustin Smith Sheriff Facebook page, Smith said the decision came after 'prayer and reflection' and cited the toll the job has taken on his family, health, and personal life.

In his statement, Smith wrote that he believes his role was to serve as a transition sheriff and said the next sheriff does not need to reinvent anything but should continue what has been built within the department.

Smith’s statement did not directly address the allegations outlined in the DA’s letter. Instead, he emphasized the challenges of his term, including an officer-involved shooting early in his tenure and the death of a detention officer, and said his decision to step aside was rooted in his desire to focus on his family and what he called “the next chapter.”

County officials later confirmed they had received Smith’s intent to resign.