ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Although its roots can be traced all the way back to the days of William the Conqueror, the Office of the Sheriff was established in the United States in the 1630s, courtesy of English colonists who settled in Virginia.
When New Mexico became a U.S. territory in 1861, the northwest portion of the state was designated as San Juan County. In 1862, the county became part of Rio Arriba County and it wasn’t until 1887 that San Juan County was recognized once again as a county. Since its existence the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office has steadfastly remained committed to serving the residents of San Juan County.
The Sheriff is a constitutional office with the Sheriff being elected to serve a four year term. The following individuals have held this office in San Juan County.
| 2011 – Present | Ken Christesen | May-Dec. 1940 | J.C. McKinzie | |
| 2009 | Mark McCloskey | 1937-1940 | John Graves | |
| 2003 – 2008 | Bob Melton | 1935-1936 | Roy B. Burnham | |
| 1995-2002 | Michael Davidson | 1931-1934 | John Graves | |
| 1991-1994 | Roger Lasater | 1927-1930 | George Blancett | |
| 1989-1990 | Conn Brown | 1925-1926 | W.D. Noland | |
| 1987-1988 | Billy F. Hillgartner | 1923-1924 | R.B. Maupin | |
| 1985-1986 | Doug Brown | 1919-1922 | J.C. Wynn | |
| 1983-1984 | Earl Roberts | 1917-1918 | C.E. Noble | |
| 1981-1982 | Doug Brown | 1909-1916 | William T. Dufur | |
| 1979-1980 | Dan Sullivan | 1905-1908 | Boone C. Vaughn | |
| 1975-1978 | Doug Brown | 1903-1904 | J.E. Elmer | |
| 1971-1974 | Dan Sullivan | 1901-1902 | John W. Brown | |
| 1967-1970 | J.C. Cattaneo | 1897-1898 | John W. Brown | |
| 1963-1966 | Roy Marcum | 1899-1900 | J.C. Dodson | |
| 1961-1962 | Floyd Stock | 1895-1896 | A.H. “Uncle Abe” Dunning | |
| 1958-1960 | Dan Sullivan | 1893-1894 | A.E. Dustin | |
| 1958-1959 | Dan Sullivan | 1889-1892 | J.C. Carson | |
| Fall 1956-1958: | Jim Brimhall | 1887-1888 | Dan Sullivan | |
| Summer 1956 | C.S. McCasland | Early 1880’s | Moses Blancett | |
| 1949-1952 | Bill Noland | |||
| 1945-1948 | Roy Sullivan | |||
| 1941-1944 | A. H. Andrews |
