Beau Oglesby Sworn Into Office As State's Attorney For Worcester County

Beau Oglesby's wife and children flanked him as Circuit Court Clerk Stephen Hales administered the oath of office, swearing him in as Worcester County's state's attorney.

When Hales asked Oglesby to raise his right hand, his daughter, Georgia, 6, and son, Evan, 4, standing at his feet, also obliged.

Once he was sworn in, his wife, Anne, handed him a new prosecutor's badge. He held it high over his head and beamed.

Oglesby pledged to be passionate and courageous and to make the State's Attorney's Office better than it is today.

"You can't imagine the journey that this has been," he said. "This campaign was never easy; we never thought it was going to be easy. We're very proud to be standing here."

It was standing-room-only for the dozens of law enforcement officers, elected officials, well-wishers and other attendees in the main courtroom at the historic Worcester County Courthouse.

Oglesby told them that, growing up, "My mom was judge and jury and my dad was executioner" -- but his father's punishments always fit the crime. He hopes to bring a similar fair and even-handed attitude to his new job.

Friends in Ocean Pines first approached Oglesby to run for state's attorney in 2001 as a Republican. He lost by 14 votes to incumbent Joel Todd, a Democrat, in the 2006 race.

In their November 2010 rematch, Todd lost by 93 votes in a race that again came down to absentee ballots. He has since been hired as an assistant prosecutor for Wicomico County. Todd did not attend the swearing-in.

During the campaign, Oglesby had the unanimous backing of county law enforcement agencies, the chiefs of which all attended in full dress uniform. He thanked them specifically for their support.

"You make me want to be a better prosecutor each and every day," he said. "I do what I do because of you. I will always do my best for you."

Seated at the courtroom tables, Oglesby's family was to his left, and to his right sat Sheriff Mike Lewis of Wicomico County. They first met in 1997 while Oglesby was an assistant state's attorney in Wicomico County and have fostered a friendship between families so close that Lewis' wife, a nurse, delivered both the Oglesby's children.

Lewis said he's watched Oglesby grow in his career into a "masterful prosecutor."

"It's no secret why Beau Oglesby has ascended to where he is today," Lewis said. "I'm so, so proud to stand here today. People need to know Worcester County is in for a real treat. It's a great day for law enforcement and it's a great day for justice."

Oglesby has worked with Todd and his staff since the election, poring though hundreds of pending case files, preparing for his first day on the job. Among them are several homicide cases, including the Feb. 8 murder trial of Justin Michael Hadel, who stands accused of killing Delaware woman Christine Sheddy.

He has already made one personnel change to his office by replacing Deputy State's Attorney Mike Farlow with Cheryl Jacobs, a Baltimore city prosecutor.

"We've been waiting eight years for this," said Terry Pinnix, an Oglesby campaign supporter. "This time, we just shook a lot more hands."

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