DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office Captain Stephen Raines retires after 27 years in law enforcement, a career that took him from a Horn Lake dispatch console to the command staff of one of Mississippi’s largest sheriff’s offices. Colleagues, family and Sheriff Thomas Tuggle gathered Thursday, Sept. 25, to celebrate his service.
Stephen Raines Retires After a Career Across DeSoto County
Raines started in 1999 as a dispatcher with the Horn Lake Police Department. He later served as an officer with the Walls Police Department before joining the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office in 2012 under then-Sheriff Bill Rasco.
Over his 14 years with the sheriff’s office, he worked his way through nearly every level of the department:
Deputy
Patrol sergeant
Detective sergeant
Lieutenant, including a role over fleet and inventory
Inventory captain, a promotion he received in January 2026
Raines is also a certified accident reconstructionist through the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR), a specialty used to piece together what happened in serious and fatal crashes.
A Stolen Truck Case He Won’t Forget
Among the cases Raines recalled was an investigation into a ring that stole 18-wheelers and stripped identifying markings so the trucks could be resold. According to Raines, the group had taken roughly $700,000 to $800,000 worth of trucks.
His advice for younger officers was simple: keep an open mind and never walk into a call assuming you already know how it will unfold.
Sheriff Tuggle and Colleagues Praise His Work
Sheriff Tuggle said putting Raines in charge of inventory was “one of the best decisions I had ever made,” noting that within just a few days on the job Raines had tracked down equipment that had been missing for two years.
Major Jonathan Poe called Raines “extremely smart and capable” and said he would miss working alongside him. Captain Danny Wilkey also spoke about lessons learned working with Raines on street-level investigations. Raines’ parents, Elaine and Byron, attended the celebration and shared their pride in his career.
What’s Next for Raines
Raines isn’t leaving investigative work behind. He plans to take some time off for a vacation before starting a new role as a forensic investigator with a private company.
DeSoto County News congratulates Captain Raines on his retirement and thanks him for more than two decades of service to Horn Lake, Walls and all of DeSoto County.
