After losing a close race for Beaufort County sheriff, Woodward makes career move
A veteran county law enforcement officer who lost the June primary election for Beaufort County sheriff has been hired by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office as its newest investigator.
Days after his defeat, Joey “JoJo” Woodward Jr. told The Island Packet that Beaufort County hadn’t seen the last of him.
“I am going to be somewhere,” Woodward said. “I love being a law enforcement officer. I am just waiting for the next chapter.”
He made good on that promise Monday.
In a news release about the hiring, Solicitor Duffie Stone said he’s worked with Woodward for 20 years.
“He’s an outstanding investigator,” Stone said. “I have tremendous respect for the work he has done and appreciation for the many relationships he has developed during his decades in Lowcountry law enforcement. He will be an asset to our team.”
Woodward said he’s excited to start this new chapter of his life, according to the news release.
“I look forward to working with each of the law enforcement agencies within the 14th Circuit and return, once again, to serving its citizens,” he said.
Woodward worked at the Sheriff’s Office in 1986, left in 1991, returned in 1992 and rose through the ranks.
Woodward, who will work in the Career Criminal Unit of the solicitor’s office, was Sheriff P.J. Tanner’s first opposition in 16 years. Woodward resigned from the Sheriff’s Office before announcing his bid to unseat Tanner. At the time, he was a captain with the Sheriff’s Office’s southern division.
Tensions between Woodward and Tanner were clear in Woodward’s campaign slogan, “It’s Time for a Working Sheriff for Beaufort County,” although he previously said it was not a criticism of Tanner’s work ethic.
Fourteen of Bluffton’s 16 districts voted in favor of Woodward, and two previous Bluffton police chiefs Joey Reynolds and Joseph Manning, as well as Bluffton town councilman Larry Toomer, publicly supported him.
Stone, who was first elected in 2006, has also had a sometimes strained relationship with Tanner.
The two began feuding in 2014 when their agencies pointed fingers over who mishandled evidence that derailed a murder case against three men accused of killing 8-year-old Khalil Singleton. In 2016, Tanner’s wife, Angela McCall-Tanner, unsuccessfully ran against Stone for the solicitor position.
A solicitor’s office spokesperson was unable to confirm Woodward’s hiring Friday when contacted by a Packet reporter. Woodward also did not return a call seeking comment Friday.
The solicitor’s office is the chief prosecuting agency for Beaufort, Allendale, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties.
This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 1:17 PM.
