Gilchrist County Sheriff tests positive for COVID-19

The Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office announced today in a news release that Sheriff Bobby Schultz and two other members of the agency have tested positive for COVID-19.

GCSO Undersheriff Robert E. Willis released the following statement:

“As our community deals with the harsh reality of COVID-19, the Gilchrist County Sheriff’s Office has also been impacted. Sheriff Bobby Schultz and at least two other members of the Gilchrist Sheriff’s Office have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last several days. Sheriff Schultz and the affected employees have been quarantined and are adhering to protocols and guidelines set forth by the Health Department and CDC. Additionally, all people who were in contact with any of the infected GCSO members have been contacted so they too can quarantine and adhere to the appropriate safety guidelines and be tested.”

All employees of the GCSO have been going through daily COVID-19 screening protocols for several months now which has thankfully allowed the spread of disease within GCSO to be extremely limited thus far. All inmates currently in the Gilchrist County Jail have been tested and all tests were negative, meaning none are infected.

Sheriff Schultz is currently in quarantine, but rest assured the GCSO will continue to run strong and provide the highest level of service to the community. Please say a prayer for our Sheriff, the other GCSO employees infected, the families who have lost loved ones, those continuing to fight this virus, and all of Gilchrist County as we work together through this pandemic.”

Schultz started his career in 1992 as a correctional officer and dispatcher in Gilchrist County. Over the next several years, he worked at Lancaster Correctional Institution, the Chiefland Police Department, the Levy County Sheriff’s Office, and as an investigator for the State Attorney’s Office and the Public Defender’s Office.

In 2012, he was elected the Sheriff of Gilchrist County, and just last week was named President of the Florida Sheriff’s Association.