SHERIFF BILLY WOODS

On January 3, 2017, William “Billy” Woods was sworn in as Marion County Sheriff by Judge Steven Rodgers with former Sheriff Moreland in attendance. Sheriff Woods is a 5th generation Marion County resident, and his father was the Ocala Fire Chief in the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s. Sheriff Woods graduated from Ocala Christian Academy and earned a B.S. from Columbia Southern University. He is a graduate from the FDLE Senior Leadership Program class 14 and Leadership Ocala/Marion (LOM).

Prior to being elected, Sheriff Woods served the community as a member of the Ocala Police Department for 26 years. He worked his way through the ranks and held several leadership positions, retiring as a Lieutenant. He was highly decorated earning both the agencies Medal of Valor and Medal of Distinction.

Sheriff Woods brought in retired Sheriff’s Office Major, and former Chiefland Police Chief, Robert Douglas, to serve as his Chief Deputy.

Sheriff Woods also flattened the very top of the organization. At the height of the previous two administrations; Sheriff Dean had eight Majors and three Chiefs of Staff, Sheriff Blair had eight Majors and one Chief Deputy. Sheriff Woods’s administration currently consists of one Chief Deputy and four Majors/Bureau Chiefs.

Upon taking office, Sheriff Woods hit the ground running and began implementing a number of new programs and restructuring of the organization. One of Sheriff Billy Woods’ first acts upon being sworn in as Marion County’s new Sheriff on January 2, 2017, was to instill a new honor code. Each employee of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) swore themselves, in addition to their Constitutional Oath of Office, to the Law Enforcement Oath of Honor.  In doing so, MCSO deputies individually swore to uphold integrity, honesty and trust in all of their actions.  

Sheriff Woods also reinstituted the MCSO Motor Unit to increase traffic enforcement and safety in Marion County.  New motorcycles were purchased for the Motor Unit deputies in order to improve their safety and mobility while patrolling our roads.  Sheriff Woods also created the MCSO Agricultural Deputy position and the AG Watch Program to establish a contact network with our agri-business community and to improve responsiveness to their needs.  Marion County’s vast agri-business community now has a single point of contact at our agency to enable swift attention to their needs. 

Sheriff Woods has supported the MCSO Juvenile and Crisis Intervention Unit in purchasing scent preservation kits to distribute to our at-risk juveniles, special needs and elderly citizens who are prone to wandering away from their guardians and homes. By taking scent samples from these individuals, our K9 Units can use this fresh, preserved scent sample to find missing persons quickly.  

Sheriff Woods created our new Therapy Dog program. A trained therapy dog was donated to the agency and is being used by the MCSO Department of Children and Families liaison deputy to interact with victims of traumatic events. The therapy dog will even be used to calm and comfort children before giving their statements to detectives and giving testimony at potential criminal proceedings, enhancing their memory recall and ensuring all of the vital facts of the case are collected for potential prosecution of the suspect(s). 

Sheriff Woods made it a priority in his first term to address the below-average pay for his deputies and employees. He was successful in his efforts working with County Commissioners to help raise Sheriff’s Office salaries to where they better aligned with state averages.

The Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches became a focus of Sheriff Woods’ charity work. In 1957, Sheriff McGehee saw a need to reach young, at-risk youth and helped form the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranch. Sheriff Woods has since picked up the baton and carried on that tradition of impacting our youth. He began serving on the board of directors of the ranch during his first term. He directed that all Citizen’s Academy participants take a tour of the ranch as part of the course curriculum to help educate our public about this charity.

On May 2, 2020, helicopter pilot, Sgt. John Rawls was flying Air-1 in an effort to assist firefighters with a wildfire near Orange Springs. While using a bucket to dip water in a nearby lake, the helicopter skids became entangled with the bucket’s cable and subsequently crashed into the lake. Sgt. Rawls was able to escape and swim to shore despite having a broken back. He would later make a full recovery and resume flying again. A new helicopter was purchased which has a broader range of capabilities. Flight crews are able to take on a more versatile role which includes airborne rescue operations utilizing Marion County Fire Rescue Paramedics. 

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2019. This event was marked with a day of celebration where many employees dressed up in clothing that would have been seen in the 1800’s. A stagecoach was on hand giving horse-drawn rides around the property. 

In 2019, Sheriff Woods updated the MCSO patch which had not been updated since Sheriff Ergle had changed it almost 30 years prior.

In the 2020 elections, Sheriff Woods ran unopposed and was sworn in once again as Sheriff of Marion County. This had not been done since Sheriff Moreland’s administration.

One of the more daunting challenges for 2020 was the outbreak of Covid-19. Our agency was affected with both employees and jail inmates contracting the illness. The concern of an outbreak within the jail was a very real possibility due to the close quarters and contact. However, through strict practices of disinfection and screening, this was avoided, and the positivity rate was kept to a minimum and even at times, no inmates tested positive for the virus. 

Growing Pains

Sheriff Woods was also faced with the challenges that growth presents. With almost 900 employees and a growing population (estimated at 375,000 in 2020), the need for space became greater. So, in 2020, ground was broken on the property for a new evidence building to house the massive amount of evidence that was overloading the current warehouse. The much larger building was designed to house not only evidence, but ample space was also made for other administrative offices to deal with the crowded office spaces at Central Operations. The new building is rated to withstand hurricane-strength winds ensuring the safety of the collected evidence.