Meet Sheriff Joshua Ray:
Sheriff Joshua Ray took his oath of office on January 1, 2025. With a distinguished career in law enforcement and a deep commitment to our community, Sheriff Ray brings his leadership, vision, and experience to ensure the safety and well-being of Guadalupe County residents.
He plans to embrace modern police strategies, harness technological resources, expand and update training standards, build partnerships with area law enforcement agencies and stakeholders, and maintain high expectations and accountability for the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office employees.
As the former Chief Deputy of the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office, he directly supervised all Sheriff’s Office operations and programs, including criminal investigations, patrol, detention facility, administration, narcotics, SWAT, crisis negotiation, warrants, civil, court security, animal control, and telecommunications.
Work history:
A United States Marine Corps veteran and a retired police officer with over 24 years of experience as a Texas Ranger. Ray previously held positions with the Texas Department of Public Safety as a criminal investigations division special agent and Texas highway patrol state trooper. Excellent reputation for resolving problems, maintaining professional and positive relationships, consistently providing an excellent work product, superior work ethic, and tenacious persistence. An outstanding performer in criminal investigations and hostage negotiation. Proven success in leadership, operational excellence, and organizational development with a keen understanding of numerous elements in law enforcement.
Education:
Sheriff Ray holds a Master Peace Officer certificate from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Texas A&M University-Commerce and a Master of Science in Investigations from the University of New Haven. He is currently a doctoral student at Louisiana State University- Shreveport pursuing a Doctorate of Education in Leadership Studies.
Message from the Sheriff:
The Guadalupe County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement and jail services for a resident population exceeding 188,000 citizens. Sheriff's Deputies patrol and investigate crime throughout all 715 square miles of Guadalupe County. Guadalupe County is situated directly east of San Antonio, Texas, and is less than three hours from the international border with Mexico. Our county is rich in Texas history, rooted in agricultural traditions, and committed to fundamental conservative values. Guadalupe County is located in the "Texas Triangle," which has experienced significant growth over the last decade. The San Antonio Metropolitan area saw a 20.3% population increase from 2010 to 2020. This growth, prosperity, and proximity to an international border bring considerable challenges to area law enforcement agencies. As your Sheriff, I am devoted to providing high-caliber professional law enforcement and detention services. We set high expectations for ourselves and seek to be recognized both by our citizens and our profession as one of the most competent and professional Sheriff's Offices in the country. Our fundamental duty is to protect and serve the citizens and visitors of our county, and we will do so with compassion, fairness, and respect. Thank you for visiting our website! If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to call.
Guadalupe County Sheriff Joshua Ray