Six candidates have now qualified against incumbent Sheriff Winston Peterson, who has served in office for nearly 20 years.

Seven now in race
for Sheriff post
Sheriff's brother one of two
independents to qualify
Two more candidates officially joined the crowded field for Clinch County Sheriff last week – adding a peculiar twist to the race. One of the independent candidates who qualified last week is the incumbent sheriff's brother.
Raymond Peterson, the brother of current Sheriff Winston Peterson, and Eddie Griffis, both qualified as independents to join the five other candidates seeking the office. But the younger Peterson said Monday that he has no plans to compete directly against his older brother.
While he said he didn't want to comment on his candidacy at this time, Raymond Peterson said he would not run for Sheriff against his brother. Both Sheriff Peterson and Raymond Peterson's wife, Linda, have been indicted on federal charges in connection with the ongoing probe into the Alapaha Judicial Circuit. 
On July 15, the Democratic candidates for Sheriff – Cecil Barber, Dwayne Guess, Mark Steedley, and incumbent Winston Peterson – will vie for their party's nomination. The winner of that partisan election will then face the Republican candidate (Ferrell Howell) and the independent candidates (Griffis and Raymond Peterson) in the November 4 general election.
Per county policy, Raymond Peterson, who serves as a deputy in the Clinch County Sheriff's Department, took a leave of absence effective Friday.
A date for Sheriff Peterson's trial has not been set, but will not be held before the July 15 primary election.
A community political forum will focus on the four contested primary contests on Thursday, July 10. The forum, sponsored by Clinch County Farm Bureau, will be held at the Homerville Municipal Complex (City Hall) on Thursday, July 10, starting at 7 p.m.
No questions will be taken from the audience at the event. All questions will need to be submitted prior to the forum. Question sheets are available at the Clinch County Farm Bureau, The Clinch County News office, Heritage Bank, and Farmers & Merchants Bank. Questions can also be sent via e-mail at clinchforum2008@gmail.com.
The contested races on the Democratic primary ballot include: Sheriff - Cecil Barber, Dwayne Guess, Winston Peterson (incumbent), and Mark Steedley; County Commission Chairman - Wayne Clifton, Roger Metts, Wink Strickland (incumbent); Probate Court Judge - Karleen O'Berry (incumbent), Annie Ruth Steedley; Board of Education, Post 5 - Charles Handley (incumbent), Lisa Johnson.
Ferrell Howell has also qualified for Sheriff as a Republican.
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Federal officials seeking to
claim Suttons' property
Federal officials are seeking to seize a property owned by the wife of Clinch County's former State Court Judge.
In a document filed in U.S. District Court in Valdosta recently, U.S. Attorney Maxwell Wood claims the property – located in Axson in Atkinson County – is owned by Lisa Sutton, former State Court Judge Berrien Sutton's wife, and is subject to forfeiture via a federal mail fraud statute.
The document claims that between 1997 and 2008, Alapaha Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Brooks Blitch III, Berrien Sutton, and Lisa Sutton "devised a scheme and artifice to defraud which involved B. Sutton or L. Sutton being assigned by Blitch to certain positions within the Alapaha Circuit for which B. Sutton and L. Sutton received substantial compensation."
Lisa Sutton was appointed by Blitch to be the director of the In the Best Interest of Children program, the Court Administrator for the circuit, and the director of the circuit's Alternative Dispute Resolution Program. According to the document, Lisa Sutton received, between November 14, 2002, and October 14, 2007, over $337,000 for those positions. In 2001, Berrien Sutton was appointed by Blitch to serve as a part-time juvenile judge for the circuit, earning in excess of $200,000 since that appointment, according to the document.
Federal officials claim the Suttons "either performed a minimal amount of work, or did none at all" at their appointed positions. The document alleges "Blitch created the various paid positions within the Alapaha Circuit for the Suttons as repayment for legal services provided by B. Sutton in relation to Blitch's personal business interests and family matters."
The document states that Berrien Sutton obtained the Axson property as a gift from his father and transferred the title to his wife in 2000. A home was then constructed on the land, and Berrien Sutton obtained a bank loan in 2002, using the property to secure the loan. In 2007, the loan "was satisfied using the proceeds of the mail fraud offenses," according to the document.
The forfeiture complaint is the latest action in the ongoing federal probe into the Alapaha Judicial Circuit. Recently, Berrien Sutton resigned as state court judge and juvenile court judge, and Blitch resigned as well. Both were facing charges from the state Judicial Qualifications Commission.
Two weeks ago, federal officials announced four indictments connected to the probe. Other officials in the five-county judicial circuit (which includes Clinch, Atkinson, Berrien, Lanier, and Cook counties) have also been indicted, or have resigned, in connection with the investigation. One of those indicted officials, Associate Magistrate Judge Linda Peterson of Homerville, is scheduled to go to federal court in Valdosta on Monday, July 7. She has been charged with counts of perjury, false statements, and extortion.
Neither of the Suttons, nor Blitch, have been charged with any crime. The Sutton home in Axson is now a bed-and-breakfast, Inn at Still Pond.
The Suttons' attorney, Thomas Withers of Savannah, did not return phone calls for comment.