MARION COUNTY — A second Marion County Sheriff’s detective has thrown his hat into the ring for the Republican nomination for sheriff.

Ryan Castleman made his announcement Tuesday after current interim-sheriff Andy Garden withdrew his candidacy.

Castleman says he’s worked at the Marion County Sheriff’s Office since 2007 and possesses a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business Administration from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.

He’s been a Corrections Officer, Patrol Deputy, and is currently the Detective focused on Narcotics investigations. Fellow detective Kevin Cripps announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination last month.

In 2010 he served as an Inspector on the Southeastern Illinois Drug Task Force focusing on narcotics operations in Marion and surrounding counties.

In 2012 he began working narcotics operations for the county and continues to do so today.

In 2018, he was assigned to an Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Task Force with the Federal Bureau of Investigation that focuses on eliminating the source of the drug
trade at the southwest border of the United States.

He says in addition to training requirements at the Sheriff’s Office, he’s received numerous training hours from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Attorney’s Office, and the Illinois State Police. I am Lead Homicide Investigator Certified and have held that certification since 2013.

Castleman is a lifelong resident of Marion County, where he lives with his wife, Annie, and their children.

He and his wife have been small business owners in Centralia since 2010. The family attends Greenview Christian Church in Centralia where he serves as a Deacon and one of the Security Ministry Leaders.

He currently serves as a School Board Member for New Horizon Christian School in Centralia.

As Sheriff, he says public safety in Marion County would be his highest priority and he wants to ensure employees at the Sheriff’s Office have up-to-date safety equipment and the latest technology to allow them to better serve the citizens of Marion County.

He would like to improve communications with surrounding agencies and develop working relationships to better serve the community.

He says Sheriff Garden has developed a great working relationship with the Marion County Board, and he intends to work closely with the Board to continue this trend.

According to Castleman, Sheriff Garden has started with some much-needed improvements to the Marion County Jail and he wants to see those improvements through to completion and build on them.

He says with his education in business administration, his experience in law enforcement, along with his knowledge of small business operations provide him the tools to be fiscally responsible with Marion County taxpayers’ dollars.