Fairfax County To Swear In Interim Sheriff

There’s a new sheriff in town — at least for a few months.

Lt. Col. Mark Sites will be sworn in July 1 as Fairfax County’s new interim sheriff. He'll serve through a special election scheduled for Nov. 5.

Current Sheriff Stan Barry announced in May he would retire come July. Barry has served as sheriff since 2000.

Barry’s official successor will be chosen in November, but Sites, a 17-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, will serve in the meantime.

Sites has served as assistant commander of the emergency response team, commander of court services and chief deputy sheriff of administration.

Sites is also the chair of the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board, an agency that helps organize and coordinate care and services for county residents with physical, mental and intellectual disabilities.

He received his bachelor's degree in administration of justice from George Mason University in 1995 and his master's degree in public administration from GMU in 1998. He is a 2012 graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy in Quantico, Va.