Greenwood County Sheriff's Office Captain Joshua “Josh” Hood was booked into the Abbeville County Detention Center late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, according to booking records, making him the second GCSO deputy arrested so far in 2026. Hood, 42, was involved in an incident with his estranged wife, according to multiple law-enforcement sources, and he declined to answer questions about it when reached this week.
The arrest, first reported by FITSNews, came as the outlet was unable to reach anyone at the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office for comment as of Tuesday. Hood's voicemail identifies him by name, and both the Greenwood County staff directory and the South Carolina Sheriff's Association website still list him as a captain. His current employment status with the agency remains unclear, per the same account.
Multiple law-enforcement sources told the outlet the incident may have occurred on property owned by Hood's estranged wife's parents. No publicly surfaced arrest record or subsequent charge for Hood appears in the Abbeville County public court index, and the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office has not commented on the arrest.
Cross-County Confusion Over Who Made the Arrest
Abbeville Police Chief Nick Moore would not confirm or deny Hood's arrest and subsequent charges, instead directing the station to file a Freedom of Information Act request with one of his captains. Separately, the Abbeville County Clerk to Council said the arrest was carried out by the city of Abbeville, not the county — a distinction that has muddied who actually holds the records on the case.
The confusion sits atop a broader question of cross-jurisdictional authority and public transparency in the case, as the report notes. With one agency deflecting to records requests and another staying silent, there has been no clear public accounting of what happened or what comes next for Hood.
A Two-Decade Career Now in Question
Hood has worked in South Carolina law enforcement for more than two decades, according to his LinkedIn profile, starting his police career as an officer for the city of Laurens before joining the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office in 2007. He became a captain in 2019 and was named the agency's public information officer in early 2022, a role in which he served as the lead spokesperson during the investigation into the 2024 fatal roadside shooting of a Simpsonville mother, according to KRDO. Under normal circumstances, the sheriff's office public information officer handles media inquiries and serves as the agency's primary press contact.
Hood's arrest occurred under Sheriff Dennis Kelly's leadership. Kelly has led the Greenwood County Sheriff's Office since 2016.
Second Arrest of a GCSO Officer This Year
Hood's booking follows the May arrest of former Greenwood County Sheriff's Lieutenant Mark “Grayson” Davis, who was charged by state agents with methamphetamine distribution and misconduct in office. Arrest warrants alleged Davis used his position to coerce a confidential informant into buying meth for his own personal use, according to a report shared on Facebook by journalist Andy Fancher. Davis's arrest, like Hood's, occurred under Kelly's leadership of the department.
Following his arrest, Davis was released on a $25,000 appearance bond, with the case to be prosecuted by the 8th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also provided information about the case.
What State Law Says Happens Next
Misconduct of a public official is addressed under South Carolina Code § 8-1-80, carrying penalties of up to a $1,000 fine and one year in prison, with public office becoming vacant upon conviction. Separately, under Code § 23-23-150, the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy can revoke or deny law enforcement certification for any officer convicted of a felony, a crime punishable by more than one year, or a controlled-substance offense.
State law also imposes a reporting deadline on the sheriff's office itself. South Carolina's Act 218, enacted in May 2022, requires law enforcement agencies to report officer misconduct to the Criminal Justice Academy within 15 days of final agency action — a timeline that will determine whether Hood ultimately keeps his state law enforcement credentials, once and if GCSO completes its own review. Statewide, misconduct and use-of-force cases move through the state's oversight system. According to the FBI, its National Use-of-Force Data Collection provides nationwide data on use-of-force incidents involving law-enforcement personnel, subjects and circumstances. The City of Columbia Police Department's 2024 Internal Affairs Annual Report said the department recorded 73 use-of-force incidents, approximately 1.5% of arrests.
A Prosecutor Headed to Statewide Office
Davis's case is to be prosecuted by the 8th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office, led by David Stumbo. Stumbo won the 2026 Republican primary runoff for South Carolina Attorney General in June, according to Fox Carolina News, putting him on a path toward statewide office even as his current circuit handles the fallout from two arrests within his own regional law enforcement ranks.
Sheriff Kelly publicly endorsed Stumbo's campaign for Attorney General alongside several other regional law enforcement leaders, according to the Clinton Chronicle.
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