Ex-County Deputy Speaks Out After Whitmire Arrest

Justin Gray, a former Cherokee County sheriff’s deputy, is publicly disputing the disorderly conduct charge that led to his firing after a July 5 confrontation in Whitmire. Gray, 37, told local television outlets that deputies arrested him after he intervened during a disturbance at his business and that discrimination played a role in what followed. Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Mueller said Gray was terminated on July 6 for violating agency policies and the office’s law-enforcement code of ethics. Newberry County authorities have described the case more narrowly. A sheriff’s office report cited by local media said deputies responding to an assault call found Gray and others yelling and cursing at each other on Main Street in Whitmire, and said Gray did not comply with repeated commands to stop. (wyff4.com) ### Who is the former deputy, and when was he hired? Justin Eric Gray had worked for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office since July 19, 2025, according to the sheriff’s office and local reports. Sheriff Mueller said Gray had been serving as a school resource officer before the arrest. The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office said Newberry County notified it at about 6:55 p.m. on July 5 that Gray had been arrested. (msn.com) Gray was booked into the Newberry County Detention Center and released on July 6, according to the sheriff’s office and local media reports. ### What do authorities say happened in Whitmire? Newberry County deputies were responding to an assault call when they encountered Gray and others in downtown Whitmire, according to a report cited by FOX Carolina and WYFF. (gaffneyledger.com) The report said Gray was “intervening” by yelling at family members of a suspect and did not follow commands from deputies on scene. The charge filed against Gray was public disorderly conduct. Local reports have consistently identified the arrest location as Whitmire in Newberry County and said Gray was off duty at the time. ### What is Gray saying about the confrontation? Gray told WYFF that the incident began with a disagreement involving two men at his business in Whitmire and became physical. (msn.com) He said one man was “yelling homosexual profanities” at his employees and later assaulted a father in front of a young daughter. Gray also said the public should compare the incident report with body-camera footage and security images. “That incident report needs to match the body cam, and body cam needs to match the security photos,” he told WYFF. (wyff4.com) FOX Carolina, in a separate report summarized through syndication, said Gray alleged discrimination led to both the arrest and his firing. (wyff4.com) That account also cited the Newberry County report describing deputies finding Gray and others yelling on Main Street. ### Why did Cherokee County fire him so quickly? (wyff4.com) Sheriff Steve Mueller said Gray was terminated on July 6 after his release from jail. WYFF reported that the sheriff’s office went to Gray’s home that evening and collected his issued equipment and patrol car. Mueller said the termination was for “violating policies and procedures” and for not adhering to the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office law-enforcement code of ethics. (msn.com) He also said the termination would be reported to the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, which he said is required under state procedures. ### What has the sheriff said publicly since the arrest? (wyff4.com) Mueller said in a statement carried by local outlets that deputies are regularly reminded that their actions “must always be above reproach.” He added that Gray’s arrest should not overshadow the work of other officers in the department. The Cherokee County sheriff separately announced in February that he will retire at the end of his term and not seek reelection in 2027, according to WSPA. (wyff4.com) That announcement is unrelated to Gray’s case but places the dispute inside a department already facing a leadership transition. ### What comes next in the case? Body-camera footage, any business security video and the underlying Newberry County case file are the next concrete points of dispute because Gray has directly challenged the written account of the arrest. (wspa.com) Newberry County’s sheriff’s office says additional records can be requested through a written Freedom of Information Act request. (wspa.com) Gray has said he intends to keep speaking publicly about the case, and the criminal charge remains the immediate legal matter to watch in Newberry County. Any further review of his law-enforcement certification would run through the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, which Mueller said will be notified of the termination. (wyff4.com)