Submitted

Rowan County’s Brock Hager has become one of Iredell County’s newest deputies. Hager completed school in Rowan County before enrolling in Basic Law Enforcement Training. He worked on a local farm.

Seven others have completed BLET at Mitchell Community College and joined the ranks as deputy in the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, according to a release from Dara St. John, networking specialist with the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

These include:

• Deputy Austin Mendenhall, who has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and political science from East Carolina University. Before getting accepted in the candidate program Mendenhall was a teacher at a local high school.

• Deputy Ashleigh Duecker has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Columbia International University and served 2 ½ years in the U.S. Army.

• Deputy Jackie Garcia graduated from Wingate University in 2022 and worked as a manager of a local business until she was accepted into the candidate program.

• Deputy Steven Paul served in the Air Force for 13 years and retired as a sergeant. He has a bachelor’s degree from Limestone University in business management and has worked in the corporate world for the past 14 years.

• Deputy Chase Schneider graduated from Lake Norman High School in 2021 and has worked in the family business, LKN Roofing, since graduating.

• Deputy Carl Willeford will be joining the Civil Division. He is a local business owner and has worked in the corporate world for more than 17 years after serving in the Army for six years.

• Deputy Colson Stocker graduated with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and forensics from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2022. While attending college, he also interned at the Wilmington Police Department.