Former Prince Edward County deputy, investigator and sergeant L.A. “Tony” Epps announced that he will run for the office of Sheriff of Prince Edward County in the November general election.  

Epps 53 lives in Rice. He was married to the late Paige Southall Epps for 23 years and was blessed with three sons. Jacob works as a dispatcher for the Farmville Emergency Communications Center and Josh and Jack attend Prince Edward County Public Schools.

Epps served with the Prince Edward County Sheriff’s Department from 1987 until 2005, and held numerous positions there through the years. He served as a deputy and certified K-9 bloodhound handler and assisted in balancing the budget. He was a lead investigator, supervisor and then sergeant. “With my extensive experience I know all aspects of the Sheriff’s Department’s day to day operations,” stated Epps. 

Epps said it has been his desire to run for sheriff of Prince Edward County again for a very long time. With so many people asking him to run and showing him their full support, he feels the time is right to run. “I love helping people and as your sheriff I will serve all citizens of the county,’’ Epps stated.

“I have a sincere desire to be a sheriff that our citizens can depend on and believe in. My reputation and record from many years of service conveys this very well. The people of Prince Edward County deserve nothing less than the best service and protection possible that the Sheriff Department can provide. I still maintain a great working relationship with all local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and especially the citizens of Prince Edward County.”

Epps is a graduate of The Central Virginia Criminal Justice Academy in Lynchburg. He has received hundreds of hours of additional training in law enforcement. Most of the additional training was focused on different aspects of police work to include Homicide Investigation through the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), criminal identification through the Riverside Sheriff’s Office in California, search and seizure, proper evidence collection and handling, photography, fingerprinting and so much more. “I have the knowledge, desire and the experience to move the sheriff’s office forward and have an office that works for the people and will enforce the law equally,” Epps said.

If elected he will strive to create and implement community policing programs. These programs will increase citizen/deputy relationships, as well as strengthen partnerships with other state and local agencies. Epps believes in working with people and letting them know what is going on in their county. This belief contributed to a high crime clearance rate for the county in the past and Epps looks forward to the opportunity to let this proven tactic work for the community again.  

“As sheriff, my deputies and I will randomly visit our schools. Resource officers do a great job but the rest of the department needs to be randomly seen out there also,” Epps said.

Epps went on to say, “I will make sure that all citizen complaints will be answered and criminals will be held accountable for their actions. I will have an open door policy which means all citizens will be able to contact me to help better serve our county.  

“In addition I will be visible, fair, honest, respectful and dependable to the citizens of Prince Edward County and its visitors. I will focus heavily on crime prevention and solving crime. Also, I will work very hard to keep drugs and drug dealers out of our county. I will offer more patrol in our neighborhoods, support for the Neighborhood Watch, Dare, Crime Solvers and support for our senior citizens.”

For more information email at Eppsforsheriff2019@gmail.com or visit the Facebook page.