DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle Selected as NDMS 2026 Hometown Hero

OXFORD – U.S. Attorney Scott Leary presented DeSoto County Sheriff Thomas Tuggle, the 2026 Hometown Hero award for the Northern District of Mississippi. 

As part of Freedom 250, United States Attorneys’ offices (USAOs) nationwide are honoring the Hometown Heroes of their districts. The Hometown Hero Award commemorates the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America by celebrating the enduring ideals of liberty, service, and civic responsibility. This award is dedicated in recognition of a steadfast commitment to these ideals and an embodiment of the spirit upon which our nation was founded.

U.S. Attorney Scott Leary presented the award, “We are federal, you are State. We are continually attempting to improve our ability to work together to make Mississippi a safer state, because we love it here. This is our home. Sheriff Tuggle typifies this ability to work together. Not only is Sheriff Tuggle a gifted professional law man, but he also continually shows up for the children of his community. He works tirelessly at his job, especially for the kids. For some of them, a light will go off, and that is what we are going for. For all of these reasons we are honored to present this Hometown Hero award to Sheriff Tuggle.”

Sheriff Tuggle has dedicated his life to serving our country, our state and his hometown DeSoto County. Tuggle has served as a Marine, a policeman, a highway patrol officer and training consultant throughout his career. As sheriff, Tuggle has led the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office’s Youth Mentor Program which focuses on helping young people develop character, mindset and skills with the ultimate goal of improving their confidence and self-worth. At the end of the year-long program, those youth are recognized in front of their community for the achievements they earned. 

Upon accepting his award, Sheriff Tuggle said he and his team are working with youth, giving them something else to think about other than guns. As a result, DeSoto County is having minimum teenagers shooting teenagers. They are teaching the youth of DeSoto County the importance of accountability that they must give in order to get, so they are starting to believe in that concept. He also discussed his time in the Marines and how it made him realize how fragile life is, by staring death in the eyes. Sheriff Tuggle said, “To receive this award is not only an honor but I share it with the entire team.” (The entire acceptance speech can be found here.

The Hometown Hero Award is presented to individuals who have made significant and measurable contributions to preserve and/or improve their community. Sheriff Tuggle has more than contributed to our community, he has been pro-active in all facets of his job and we want to commend him for his efforts. 

For more information on Freedom 250 and the Hometown Hero award, go to https://freedom250.org/