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A veteran captain with the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) was arrested this past weekend, according to booking records obtained by FITSNews.
These same records confirm Joshua “Josh” Hood, 42, was booked into the Abbeville County Detention Center either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.
As of this publication, however, neither a record of his arrest nor a subsequent charge has surfaced in the county’s public index of court cases. Nonetheless, multiple sources familiar with Upstate South Carolina law enforcement tell FITSNews an incident occurred between Hood and his “estranged” wife on or about Saturday. Those same sources said the impetus for his arrest might have occurred on a property owned by his estranged wife’s parents.
As for who effectuated his arrest, the clerk to council for Abbeville County told FITSNews via email it was “the city of Abbeville, not the county.”
Given the clerk to court’s account, FITSNews emailed Abbeville Police Chief Nick Moore for confirmation of Hood’s arrest and subsequent charges.
Moore responded within the day, but rather than confirm or deny the incident, he instead directed FITSNews to file a Freedom of Information Act request with one of his captains.
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Unsubstantial as it was, Moore’s six-word email response is six words more than GCSO has offered on its own captain’s arrest.
As of publishing, FITSNews has not been able to reach anyone at GCSO for comment, including Sheriff Dennis Kelly — who was emailed directly. In a bizarre twist, the only GCSO affiliate to answer FITSNews‘ call was Hood himself, who respectfully declined to answer any questions Tuesday morning.
Given his department’s refusal to engage, it remains unclear if Hood is still employed by the agency.
Even so, his GCSO voicemail still identifies him by name, and he’s still listed as a captain on both Greenwood County’s staff directory and the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association website.
Prior to this weekend, Hood had clocked over two decades in Palmetto State law enforcement, according to his LinkedIn. The same profile indicated he started his police career as an officer for the city of Laurens before joining GCSO in 2007. He spent the next 12 years working his way up, ultimately attaining the rank of captain in 2019.
Come early 2022, he was named the department’s public information officer, a position tasked with fielding media inquiries and serving as the primary point of contact with the press.
Given that, Hood would ordinarily be the one answering questions about a situation like his own.
Regardless of what has befallen him, Hood still marks the second GCSO deputy to be arrested this year. Just three months ago, state agents charged now-former deputy Mark “Grayson” Davis with meth distribution and misconduct.
Both cases occurred under the watchful eye of Sheriff Kelly, who has led GCSO since 2016.
Write to Andrew Fancher at andy@fitsnews.com.
This story may be updated.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy Award–winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. He joined FITSNews in 2023 after leaving an NBC affiliate, where he served as on-air talent. His reporting focuses on public corruption in South Carolina, with an emphasis on law enforcement misconduct and abuse of power.
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