Shelton makes history at Merced County Sheriff’s Department

A Merced native made history Monday, becoming the first black person to attain the rank of sergeant in the nearly 160-year history of the Merced County Sheriff’s Department.

Delray Shelton, 30, was sworn in as a sergeant Monday morning before a crowd of more than 100 people at the Sheriff’s Department on M Street in Merced. Shelton’s brother, Owngia Ray Shelton Jr., who is also a deputy sheriff, pinned on the sergeant’s badge after Shelton took the oath administered by Sheriff Tom Cavallero.

“I feel a great sense of accomplishment and I hope that what I’ve been able to accomplish with the help of so many colleagues sets a new precedent for all minorities in this department,” Shelton said afterward.

Cavallero said he was proud of Shelton’s accomplishment and pleased to be part of an important moment in the department’s history. “The truth is, as much as I’m happy to witness history, I hadn’t really considered the historical aspect of any of it,” Cavallero said. “The consideration was based solely on Delray’s achievements, abilities and advanced education.”

Retired Undersheriff Bill Blake, who’s been part of the department for more than four decades, confirmed Shelton is the first black person to reach a management level position in the department’s history. Blake, who swore in Shelton as a deputy in 2006, praised the veteran deputy’s abilities.

Blake noted that the late Detective John Henry Harris, who joined the department in the 1960s, was the first black man promoted when he attained the rank of advanced detective, but Shelton is the first to reach a management-level position.

Harris was Shelton’s great-uncle.

Shelton said he was proud to have his family – his mother, Bernadette Brummell and stepfather Robert Brummell – on hand. His father, Owngia Ray Shelton Sr., died in 2009, but, Shelton said, he knows his father was especially proud of him.

Shelton’s tenure in the department has been marked by achievement and some great difficulties. Shelton was one of three deputies who on April 28, 2008, shot and killed a troubled Atwater man who stormed the Merced courthouse armed with two large knives in an apparent attack on Judge Brian McCabe.

Shelton does not often discuss the incident publicly, but, he acknowledged, it meant a lot to him that Judge McCabe attended his promotion ceremony Monday. “It’s been a very long road, for sure,” Shelton said. “But I’m very proud to have broken through a barrier and very honored to share this with so many of my friends and family.”

This story was originally published September 8, 2014 at 6:32 PM.