2026 North Carolina General Election

Meet Tracy

My name is Tracy Story, and I am proud to say that I was born and raised right here in Halifax County. I am an Unaffiliated candidate for the office of Sheriff.

Tracy Story for Halifax County Sheriff

Educational Accomplishments

High School Equivalency GED Halifax Community College 1995

Leadership and Management Training Seminars 98-2008

Criminal Justice Certificate Nash Community College 2024

Tracy Story was born and raised in Halifax County. He earned a GED from Halifax Community College and a criminal justice certificate from Nash Community College.

ROANOKE RAPIDS — Businessman Tracy T. Story is throwing his hat in the race for Halifax County sheriff in 2026.

Owner of Discount Automotive and Tire, Spartan Elite 365 and founder of the nonprofit The Rewritten Story Foundation, the Halifax County native told The Herald on Friday why he was making an official announcement early.

Businessman Tracy Story announces 2026 Halifax County sheriff run

In 2020, Tracy became a deputy at the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office until 2022. Tracy was asked about Sheriff Tyree Davis, who won the election in 2022.

Businessman Tracy announces 2026 Halifax County sheriff run

Tracy owns Discount Automotive and Tire and Spartan Elite 365 and founded the nonprofit The Rewritten Story Foundation. He previously served as a deputy at the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office.

Crime Reduction

My team and I will implement procedures and methods to impact high crime areas. We will partner with every police department, mayor, city council person and others to assist in every proactive approach possible. We will work alongside every citizen to improve neighborhoods and our overall quality of life. There will be no communities in our county that we will stay out of.

Public Safety & Crime Strategy

We will start the proactive approach of partnering with great programs like Boys 2 Men and other community minded programs around the county that focus on uplifting and encouraging our kids before the gangs and negatives of society do. This proactive engagement will not only introduce these kids to law enforcement in a positive setting but will also show them we have a lot more in common than they may have thought. Working to help promote, fundraise and facilitate these programs is a must to motivate and empower our future generations of respectful and productive citizens!

We will bring back Community Crime Watch Programs that currently don’t exist. We will have a coordinator that will conduct county wide meetings, facilitate information sharing between the Sheriff’s Office and the public, provide no cost security assessments to homes, churches, schools and businesses and promote valuable programs like Crime Stoppers. In past administrations, this program provided proven crime prevention and led to many arrests.

SROs & School Safety

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” This quote from Nelson Mandela couldn’t be more accurate. With that said, it’s extremely important to me that every child has the opportunity to learn and grow without any fears of harm. No school, private or public, will ever be refused protection under my watch. Funding will not stand in the way of protecting our babies. Additionally, we will have strategic plans for every school along with offering training for teachers and school personnel on what to do in case of an emergency.

Did you know there are statutes that allow a volunteer SRO program in North Carolina? These are actually already lawful and legal ways to increase safety and lower cost. These programs are currently not being utilized. These men and women would be in addition to SROs that are currently in schools. At a time when only one school resource officer may be tasked with protecting and responding to up to 900 students and faculty, the need for additional personnel is paramount. Every legal avenue and resource available should be used in the protection of our children.

We are also going to work towards expanding on this program by using unarmed personnel in schools that will offer an increased deterrence. More security in place will allow them to assist school personnel and SROs which lessens the likelihood of serious injury or death. This is how you reduce the cost of safety that continuously burdens tax payers and school boards all while increasing the amount of personnel on site. This expansion will be introduced to legislators as another cost efficient way of making schools even safer.

Animal Safety, Enforcement & New Volunteer Program

Since starting this journey, one of my goals is to join the current Animal Control with the Sheriff’s Office. This has many benefits, but most importantly, it gives agents the backing of the Sheriff and will serve greatly in the enforcing of laws pertaining to animals. This is already being done throughout many counties in North Carolina by many Sheriffs.

Let me also be clear about animal abuse and illegal fighting of animals, I simply will not tolerate it! We will investigate every tip, we will pursue those individuals and we will prosecute them to the full extent of the law.

We will work extremely hard to involve legal seizure methods against drug dealers, gangs and others. Those funds will be reinvested back into our department to serve the needs for improved safety items and other updated necessities for our office. When you bring your own lunch money, you don’t have to worry about eating!

Leadership, Accountability & Operations

I will also look into inter-local agreements for safety services. The last thing towns that are struggling need is additional cost burdening their budgets as they look to grow. I'll meet with county and town leaders to make sure we are doing what is best for our citizens and look to provide as much low to no cost mutual aid as we can while staffing shortages at police departments are filled.

Plans to partner with local governments, police departments, and residents on proactive strategies in high-crime areas.

Plans to partner with youth programs to encourage young people before they become involved in gangs.

Plans to restore community crime-watch programs, including public meetings, information sharing, security assessments, and Crime Stoppers promotion.

Plans to provide protection to all public and private schools, with school emergency plans and training for school personnel.

Proposes volunteer school resource officers and unarmed school personnel to supplement existing school safety staffing.

Plans to integrate animal control with the sheriff's office to strengthen enforcement of animal-related laws.

Pledges to investigate tips on animal abuse and illegal animal fighting and pursue prosecution.

Plans to use legal asset-seizure methods against drug dealers and gangs and reinvest proceeds in sheriff's office safety needs.

Plans to pursue agreements among local governments for safety services and low- or no-cost mutual aid.

- Plans to partner with local governments, police departments, and residents on proactive strategies in high-crime areas.
- Plans to partner with youth programs to encourage young people before they become involved in gangs.
- Plans to restore community crime-watch programs, including public meetings, information sharing, security assessments, and Crime Stoppers promotion.
- Plans to provide protection to all public and private schools, with school emergency plans and training for school personnel.
- Proposes volunteer school resource officers and unarmed school personnel to supplement existing school safety staffing.
- Plans to integrate animal control with the sheriff's office to strengthen enforcement of animal-related laws.
- Pledges to investigate tips on animal abuse and illegal animal fighting and pursue prosecution.
- Plans to use legal asset-seizure methods against drug dealers and gangs and reinvest proceeds in sheriff's office safety needs.
- Plans to pursue agreements among local governments for safety services and low- or no-cost mutual aid.

Public Safety

The expectations will be extremely high, but the rewards will make the work worth it. We will promote those who work hard and go above and beyond to serve our citizens and our team, not those that have sycophant tendencies.

BLET applicants will be welcomed and sponsored by our office. We want to cultivate home town folks who are passionate about being a law enforcement officer. Using every avenue, like visiting our High Schools, Early College Programs and Community College for recruitment and supply those young men and women with the information they need to decide if they’d like to join our team.

In my opinion, jail staff have been treated unfairly. Even when raises were asked for, they were again treated unfairly. The Sheriff’s Office requested “15% across the board for patrol”, excluding the jail staff by only requesting 8% for those men and women. Does the jail staff, that also has retention issues, live with a lesser cost of living? I don’t agree with this philosophy. That jail is not only one of the primary responsibilities of the Sheriff, but it's an integral part of our justice system.

Professional Accountability and Transparency

This is another of great importance because we are funded by your tax dollars. As much as everyone enjoys talking about things that went right we also have to remember that we answer to the tax payer about more than just the good. When mistakes happen or if we have a learning moment some things we cannot legally talk about, but things we can talk about we will. Proactive means getting out in front of things, reactive means we are behind and playing catch up. We will be as proactive with information and communication as the law allows us to be.

Plans to sponsor Basic Law Enforcement Training applicants and recruit prospective officers through local schools and colleges.

Opposes requesting smaller pay raises for jail staff than for patrol staff.

Plans to communicate proactively about sheriff's office mistakes and other matters when legally permitted.

- Plans to sponsor Basic Law Enforcement Training applicants and recruit prospective officers through local schools and colleges.
- Opposes requesting smaller pay raises for jail staff than for patrol staff.
- Plans to communicate proactively about sheriff's office mistakes and other matters when legally permitted.

Jail Management

We will clear a main wall in the Sheriff’s office and post family pictures of those murdered and missing. We will make sure that no one in that office regardless of rank will be able to forget them. We will treat them all as if they were our own family members. To help further those cases, we will implement a Justice Team of current law enforcement professionals, former law enforcement professionals and a wide range of other volunteers whose main mission is to track down leads, stay in contact with and advise victim’s families along with using all legal methods available to us to bring justice and closure to the families. I believe these cases deserve a lot more attention, and if I become your Sheriff, they will get just that!

Our Community Plan
Mental Health Matters

We will start handling offenders with a different scope. Using proactive measures to address mental health as opposed to just “lock em up” only to be released with the same mental issues they had when they arrived. A new and improved way of classification with the offenders will help identify those that need more than just time in jail or prison. We have to break the cycle and stop the rotating door of our current justice system.

Mental Health

I plan to reach out to multiple sources in the Mental Health system to explore options of drug abuse treatment and mental health assessments. Making sure our DAs and Judges are aware of each situation with the hope of mandatory treatment sentences as opposed to just jail time. Stopping these issues in their tracks and breaking these habits is key!

Having an actual program led by local church leaders that's on a regular weekly schedule to mentor those who want to learn the word of God. This type of outreach is just one example of the powerful and impactful type of interventions we will implement.

This is why my team and I will work to collect hard data that supports the need of going back to our own judiciary district or at least with only 1 county (Northampton). We will present this to our elected leaders and keep you, the tax paying citizen, in the loop as we work to accomplish this goal. This will dramatically improve the judicial system here locally and reduce cost across the board.

New Judicial District

Plans to create a volunteer Justice Team to pursue leads in murder and missing-person cases and support victims' families.

Plans to use offender classification, mental-health assessments, and treatment options rather than relying solely on incarceration.

Plans to offer weekly church-led mentoring for incarcerated people who want to participate.

Plans to collect data and ask elected leaders to establish a Halifax-focused judicial district, potentially shared only with Northampton County.

- Plans to create a volunteer Justice Team to pursue leads in murder and missing-person cases and support victims' families.
- Plans to use offender classification, mental-health assessments, and treatment options rather than relying solely on incarceration.
- Plans to offer weekly church-led mentoring for incarcerated people who want to participate.
- Plans to collect data and ask elected leaders to establish a Halifax-focused judicial district, potentially shared only with Northampton County.

Criminal Justice

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Tracy Story

Mauricio Mendez

Walter Ley

Sheriff Davis has a master’s degree in public administration from Capella University, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Kaplan University, a diploma in computer technology from ECPI College of Technology, and certified in city and county management from the UNC School of Government.

Sheriff Tyree Davis

Tyree Davis holds a diploma in computer technology from ECPI College of Technology, a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Kaplan University, and a master's degree in public administration from Capella University. He is certified in city and county management by the UNC School of Government.

Sheriff Tyree Davis, Halifax County, NC

Sheriff Tyree Davis started his law enforcement career in 2003 with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office. While working with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office Sheriff Davis rose through the ranks of deputy, corporal, narcotics agent, and sergeant in criminal investigations. In 2015, Sheriff Davis was hired as the captain of the Enfield Police Department and later that year appointed to chief of police. In December of 2020, Sheriff Davis was appointed as the Town Manager for the Town of Enfield. As the town manager, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the town.

Tyree Davis previously worked as the town manager for the Town of Enfield. He also worked with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy, corporal, narcotics agent, and sergeant in criminal investigations, and served as captain and chief of police for the Enfield Police Department.

This year marked the third time Tyree Davis has run for Halifax County sheriff. This election cycle he won, collecting 38.25 percent of the vote, to edge out current sheriff’s office Chief Deputy Scott Hall and retired trooper Jimmie Silver. Davis, according to unofficial results, collected 3,007 votes. Hall collected 2,871 while Silver got 1,983. With the win Davis will become the first African American sheriff in the county.

Davis gets nod as Halifax County sheriff

Tyree won election as Halifax County sheriff after previously running for the office twice.

Davis gets nod as Halifax County sheriff - RRSpin

Tyree currently serves as Halifax County Sheriff.

Task force with Roanoke Rapids. “We have now started a drug and gang task force with the Roanoke Rapids Police Department,” Davis said. “They were short-staffed, they didn’t have the manpower to do what they needed to do. We’re signing up for the DEA Task Force so we will have a direct link between us and the DEA to help fast-track some of our criminals out of here.”

'Law enforcement comes first,' sheriff tells commissioners

Davis said it’s hard to tell a law enforcement officer that they’re going to be policed. “But that’s what we do. We have to police our own to make sure we’re doing what we’re supposed to do.”

The sheriff’s office has reimplemented training methods for canine officers. “We don’t want you just riding around with that dog looking good. We need you to work with that dog.” Davis said he wants the canine officers to excel at searches — not just for missing people but for drugs and weapons. “We made it mandatory for our canine guys to get monthly training.”

Started a drug and gang task force with the Roanoke Rapids Police Department and plans to join a Drug Enforcement Administration task force.

Said law-enforcement officers should be held accountable through internal oversight.

Implemented mandatory monthly training for canine officers, including searches for missing people, drugs, and weapons.

- Started a drug and gang task force with the Roanoke Rapids Police Department and plans to join a Drug Enforcement Administration task force.
- Said law-enforcement officers should be held accountable through internal oversight.
- Implemented mandatory monthly training for canine officers, including searches for missing people, drugs, and weapons.

The sheriff’s office has started charging inmates for damages done to the detention center, fighting and making shanks. “When I got there they were fighting, making shanks and tearing up our mattresses. The only thing we would do is take the shank and ask them if they needed to go to the doctor if you got beat up or if you tore up a mattress we’d give you another one.” Now the sheriff’s office is charging them for damaging property. “If you damage our property we go into your account. We take money out of your account. We charge you for damage to property and you go to court for it.”

The sheriff’s office is now doing jail checks twice a day where before “at no time were we checking to see if the correct people were in our jail. You would think that’s something you should be doing anyway. We were not doing it … so therefore if somebody escaped we wouldn’t know anything about it until they had a court case or we had cause specifically to come in there.”

The sheriff said he expressed the need to the commissioners and the county management team. “They started looking for ways that we could get a body scanner to keep this contraband out of our jail and that’s where Congressman Davis comes in.” Sheriff Davis said the body scanner will make the detention staff safer “because we all know how deadly fentanyl is and other drugs and weapons. One jail found a firearm tucked inside somebody. If they can get into the jail they will.”

Detention center gets funds for body scanner

Many of these items, he said, can’t be found from a strip search. “But we can find them with a body scanner. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to get it. I thank our county management team, our county commissioners and our congressman for making this happen.” Said the sheriff: “This will help keep our inmates and our staff safe and I appreciate it.”

Each of the sheriff’s offices were charging Halifax $75 per day, per inmate while the going rate currently is $50 per day per inmate. “I reached out to those sheriffs and asked them to reduce their rates from $75 per day to $50 per day … They worked with us and moved their rates down to $50 a day per inmate just like these other jails that are housing our inmates. That’s saving us a tremendous amount of money when it comes to paying other jails to hold our inmates.”

Implemented charges against people in custody for damaging detention-center property, including deductions from their accounts and court proceedings.

Implemented twice-daily jail checks to verify that the people held in the facility are correctly accounted for.

Supports obtaining a body scanner to detect contraband and improve safety for detention staff and people in custody.

Negotiated lower daily rates for housing Halifax County inmates in other jails, from $75 to $50 per inmate.

- Implemented charges against people in custody for damaging detention-center property, including deductions from their accounts and court proceedings.
- Implemented twice-daily jail checks to verify that the people held in the facility are correctly accounted for.
- Supports obtaining a body scanner to detect contraband and improve safety for detention staff and people in custody.
- Negotiated lower daily rates for housing Halifax County inmates in other jails, from $75 to $50 per inmate.

The sheriff’s office is partnering with Superior Court Judge Brenda Branch and other judicial officials to bring an adult drug court to Halifax County. “We have good people that are addicted to drugs,” he said. “I don’t care if it's heroin, cocaine or prescription pills — You can have a good person who hurt their back and the next thing you know they’re addicted to pills and they’re doing stuff they wouldn’t normally do to get those pills.” The answer isn’t just throwing them in jail, the sheriff said, but to get them help for their problem. “Some want help and some don’t so we’re going to have to identify the ones that truly want help and truly want to go through the program and get the help.”

When crime happens and we’re not communicating with the law enforcement agencies, they’re falling through the cracks and the criminals are getting away. We can’t have that. We put out the message that if you come into our county to commit crime we will target you, we will identify you and go after you and take every legal recourse we can to get you out of this county whether that’s putting you in a state prison or federal prison. We will use every resource we have because you are not going to come in this county and mess up the quality of life for our citizens.

“We love our state courts,” the sheriff said, “But everybody knows when they’re arrested and they go to state court they’ll get a slap on the wrist and they’ll be back home before we finish our paperwork.” Thus far, five people have been taken into federal custody and through the federal court system where there are mandatory minimums. “We are targeting the ones that are causing us the most headaches in this county. We’re spending our funds to build great cases against them,” he said. “Now we have a partnership with the DEA, the FBI and they are adopting our cases. We pick these folks up and put them in federal custody. So far we have five. We have many more to come and I can’t wait until that paperwork is signed so we can pick them up.”

Supports drug-court treatment for people with addiction who want to participate in rehabilitation.

Said the sheriff’s office will identify people who commit crimes in Halifax County and pursue all available legal avenues for incarceration.

Partners with federal law-enforcement agencies to develop cases against people the office identifies as major offenders and seek federal prosecution.

- Supports drug-court treatment for people with addiction who want to participate in rehabilitation.
- Said the sheriff’s office will identify people who commit crimes in Halifax County and pursue all available legal avenues for incarceration.
- Partners with federal law-enforcement agencies to develop cases against people the office identifies as major offenders and seek federal prosecution.

Tyree Davis

Tyree Davis grew up in Weldon. He earned a diploma in computer technology from ECPI College of Technology, a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Kaplan University, and a master's degree in public administration from Capella University, and is certified in city and county management from the UNC School of Government. He is married to Arnette Terry Davis, has a son, and lives in Enfield.

Tyree Davis previously served as town manager for Enfield and as chief of police for the Enfield Police Department. He began his law enforcement career with the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office, where he served as a deputy, corporal, narcotics agent, and sergeant in criminal investigations.

Tyree was sworn in as Halifax County sheriff in 2022.

Tyree Davis is the first African American sheriff in Halifax County. He is a father.

Tyree is the sheriff of Halifax County. He previously served as the police chief and town administrator for Enfield.

Tyree is currently the sheriff of Halifax County. He was elected in 2022 and is serving his first term.

Tyree is the town administrator for Enfield. He previously served as the town's police chief. 

Tyree is currently the sheriff of Halifax County. He was appointed to fill the unexpired term of former Sheriff Wes Tripp. He previously ran for sheriff in 2022 and won.

As of April 6, 2026, Tyree Davis’s website did not contain information on this issue.

Tyree is currently the sheriff of Halifax County. Before becoming sheriff, he served as the chief of police for the Enfield Police Department.

Sahid Burgos

Buket Urgen

- The sheriff is responsible for enforcing the law, managing security in jails and courtrooms. They also oversee daily conditions of the jail and inmates in custody and serve legal documents such as warrants and eviction notices. Their ultimate responsibility is to protect the community. 

Responsible for enforcing the law and overseeing jails. 

Halifax Sheriff

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