Drew Robinson

Career

28 Years of Service

Biography

In His Own Words

Sheriff Drew Robinson was born and raised in Oak City, North Carolina; a small farming community in Northern Martin County and has remained a lifelong resident of Martin County.

Drew began his law enforcement career in March of 1996, when he was hired by the Bethel Police Department as a Police Officer. On January 31, 1997, Drew was hired as a Deputy with the Martin County Sheriff's Office; where he has spent the remainder of his career. During his time with the Martin County Sheriff's Office, Drew has held the positions of Deputy, Patrol Sergeant, Narcotics Investigator, Criminal Investigator, Lieutenant of Investigations and Chief Deputy.

As a Deputy, Drew was assigned the duties of patrolling Martin County, protecting the lives and property of the citizens, answering calls for service, investigating violations of North Carolina General Statutes, properly executing criminal and civil processes of the courts, completing all mandated state and office reports, investigating traffic accidents and enforcing motor vehicle law. Drew remained a Deputy until January of 1999 when he was promoted to Narcotics Agent and assigned to the Roanoke-Chowan Narcotics Task Force.

The Roanoke-Chowan Narcotics Task Force was a multi-jurisdictional task force that focused its efforts on identifying and building cases against those who poisoned the community through the unlawful sale and distribution of illegal drugs. As a Narcotics Agent, Drew conducted specialized investigations related to violations of the North Carolina Controlled Substances Act in Martin, Bertie, Hertford, Gates and Washington Counties; on both state and federal court levels. As part of those investigations, Drew was responsible for conducting follow-up investigations of narcotics related complaints received from citizens and other law enforcement officers, supervising and managing a confidential informant base, coordinating marijuana eradication efforts in a 5 county geographical area of North Carolina, completing and maintaining intelligence and investigative files on suspected narcotics distributors, conducting covert surveillance operations, providing sworn testimony in state and federal court hearings / trials, preparing and executing search and seizure warrants and supervising various tactical operations related to narcotics investigations.

Additionally, Drew was certified by the North Carolina National Guard as a law enforcement flight officer. Drew would often fly with the National Guard Counterdrug program in observation type helicopters to track informants, record drug deals and provide aerial support during tactical operations. During his time with the Roanoke-Chowan Narcotics Task Force, Drew was able to establish long-lasting relationships with local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

In December of 2001, Drew was assigned the position of Patrol Sergeant. As a Patrol Sergeant, his duties included patrolling Martin County, protecting the lives and property of the citizens, answering calls for service, investigating violations of North Carolina General Statutes, properly executing criminal and civil processes of the court, supervising a shift of uniformed Patrol Deputies, counsel employees on job performance, review and approve completed mandated state and office reports and develop, initiate and execute a newly formed field training program.

In December of 2003, Drew was promoted to Criminal Investigator. The duties of a Criminal Investigator included being the lead investigator on numerous major crimes; to include, robberies, homicides, sexual assaults and felony assaults. Additionally, Drew maintained intelligence and investigative files on suspected criminals in Martin County, provided sworn testimony in criminal court proceedings and processed crime scenes for latent, biological or other physical evidence. Through his criminal investigations, Drew was able to gain more experience in verifying information received from informants and managing / supervising large scale tactical operations; to include the execution of search warrants and large-scale manhunts for homicide suspects.

Drew was promoted to Lieutenant of the Investigative Division of the Martin County Sheriff's Office in August of 2006. As the Lieutenant, Drew was responsible for assigning cases for further investigation, supervising on-going investigations being conducted by the Martin County Sheriff's Office, scheduling training, conducting internal investigations regarding complaints received by citizens, supervising multiple tactical operations, supervising the daily operations of the Investigative Division and preparing and assisting in the implementation of various policies of the Martin County Sheriff's Office. During this time, Drew also received training by the FBI in hostage / crisis negotiations and acted as the negotiator for the Martin County Sheriff's Office.

In August of 2017, Drew was promoted to the position of Chief Deputy. As Chief Deputy, Drew reported directly to the Sheriff, was responsible for the daily operations of all divisions of the Martin County Sheriff's Office; to include, investigations, patrol, animal control, school resource officers, court security and civil process. Drew was the acting public information officer for the Sheriff's Office, where he prepared media releases and developed close working relationships with the major news outlets in the area.

Following the retirement of Sheriff Tim Manning, Drew was appointed Sheriff of Martin County on January 31, 2025 by the Martin County Board of Commissioners. Interestingly, Drew was appointed to the Office of Sheriff 28 years to the day from being sworn in as a Martin County Deputy Sheriff.

Drew is a proud graduate of the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association's inaugural Chief Deputies' Leadership Institute, which he completed in 2024. Additionally, Drew has been awarded the Intermediate Law Enforcement Certificate, Advanced Law Enforcement Certificate and Advanced Service Award; all issued by the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission. Drew is a certified General Instructor, Specialized Driving Instructor and an FAA UAS Remote Pilot. Over his career, Drew has completed over 3,000 hours of law enforcement related training in many topics.

Drew is very active in the community. During his career in law enforcement, Drew has always believed in treating the citizens with care, respect and compassion. As Sheriff of Martin County, Drew plans to expand the Martin County Sheriff's Office interaction with the community and help foster a healthy relationship between the Sheriff's Office and the citizens through transparency, professionalism and integrity. Drew looks forward to serving the citizens of Martin County as their Sheriff for many years to come.