NEWTON COUNTY - by Mike Lout/KJAS - The Newton County Commissioners Court convened shortly after 10:00 on Wednesday morning and unanimously voted to appoint Eddie Shannon to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff Joe Walker.
Following the vote, District Judge Jerome Owens did the honors, officially swearing in Shannon, who will take office immediately.
Shannon said that his first priority was to determine the status of the Newton County Sheriffs Department, which he said has been on autopilot since May.
Shannon, who defeated Walker in the Democratic Primary in May of this year, also recently defeated his Republican challenger, Robert Bug Davis and write in candidate Josh Hancock in the General Election earlier this month. However, Walkers term would not officially have ended until December 31st.
The appointment of Shannon came following the announcement earlier this week that Walker had tendered a letter to Newton County Judge Truman Dougharty stating that he would be resigning effective Wednesday.
Shannon who is a investigator for Newton County District Attorney Robert Choate, is a 21 year veteran of law enforcement and over the years has worked for both the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
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