My name is Marvin Antwon Hilliard, and I am a Martin County native. I am the grandson of the late Andrew Roberson and Eula Mae Pitt Roberson.  The son of Rudolph Hilliard and the late Sandra Roberson Hilliard. My mother was a single parent that taught me about God, to always stay humble, and to never give up on your dreams. I lost my mother in the 9th grade and became homeless, before my grandmother took me and siblings in as her own.

 

After graduating from Roanoke High School, my heart was set on going to college.  At that moment, it was not the right time to take on that journey. I started work in the factory industry for a few years to help provide for my grandmother and my autistic brother. My dreams and goals in life were to become a law enforcement officer. I went to Martin Community College to become a law enforcement officer but during that time I lost my grandmother, Eula Mae Roberson. I took some time and went back to work in the factory industry. A few months later I went back and enrolled in BLET at Halifax Community College.  Edgecombe County Sheriff, James Knight, sponsored me through BLET and later hired me upon completion.

 

Over the years, I was promoted from Deputy to Detective.  Also, while there I was given another respected role with Edgecombe County as a member of the honor guard. I have documented success in liaising with the community and individuals, crime deterrence, reassuring the community, and identifying and interviewing suspects.  These duties also allowed me to gain an abundance of knowledge on the process of keeping records of general public complaints and resolving them in a timely manner.  My role with this agency also allowed me to become more adept at handling court proceedings and public hearings.  While building successful, stable cases for court I gained hands-on experience in taking necessary action against culprits, gathering evidence, filing cases, and generating appropriate reports. My investigation skills were utilized while working on homicides, arsons, breaking and entering cases, ABC laws, and illegal lotteries that were assigned to me. Further experience was gained while working several successful narcotics investigations.  This led to numerous search warrants being written for these investigations.  My well written warrants led to narcotics and stolen property being seized and arrests being made.

 

While serving with the Sharpsburg Police Department, I was assigned the role as the Captain/Interim Chief.  During my career there, I was responsible for overseeing the entire department. These duties included me ordering police equipment for our uniform division to anything needed for our patrol cars. My main duties included but was not limited to being in charge of the Police Department's budget, assisted with working the streets and investigative duties when my other employees/officers were not available, attended town meetings, planned events for the community, assisted with the hiring processes, and provided internal training for my fellow officers to keep their certifications updated.  With a heavy heart, I decided to resign from Sharpsburg to run for the Sheriff of Martin County.  This decision was made so that I can pursue my dreams to provide and share my knowledge, time, and skills with the citizens and law enforcement side of Martin County.  I accepted a position at Scotland Neck Police Department that was closer to my home, in Martin County, to further my dream and still provide for my family. 

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Over the past years, I have received my associate degree in criminal justice from Nash Community College.  Also, I obtained my bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Liberty University. I also became a North Carolina Criminal Justice Instructor where I train officers across the state of North Carolina. This became possible by enduring several hours of training to become a Training Coordinator.

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During my career, I have been able to successfully write grants for law enforcement that help save taxpayers money. The grants were all approved by Governor Pat McCrory.  My most recent grant that I wrote was also accepted and passed by our current governor, Roy Cooper. 

 

I have well rounded experience in Law Enforcement and have humble beginnings that have taught me to always emulate a person of good nature and great achievements.

 

Following the 2018 election, I continue to serve our community. To further assist our community, I started a nonprofit organization named TFBU Foundation (The Future Belongs You Foundation).  Our mission is to inspire the community through charitable endeavors, culture empowerment and unity among our communities. TFBU Foundation's priority is to enhance educational opportunities, and to promote the growth of our communities.  Over the years we provided scholarships to high school students, raised money for schools, and hurricane/tornado victims in Bertie County.  TFBU Foundation has also taken the lead in providing virtual learning, mentoring, tutoring, counseling, and providing safety equipment for our community. We gave out hand sanitizer stands, hand sanitizer, Lysol, tissue, food, and facemask to assist with combatting the coronavirus pandemic that is ongoing.  TFBU also helped register our citizens to get the Covid vaccine shot and helped register citizens to vote. We continue to hold training to educate our community.  (https://www.tfbufoundation.org/)

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Through my work with the TFBU Foundation, I’ve seen how small acts of service can make a big difference feeding a family in need, helping a young person find direction, or giving someone hope when life feels heavy. Service has taught me that leadership is not about titles it’s about touching lives.

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In my current role with the State of North Carolina as an Administrative Specialist FARS Analyst, I’ve learned even more about the importance of life itself. Every day, I analyze traffic fatalities across all 100 counties in our state. I see tragedy up close lives cut short; families forever changed in a single moment.​ That work humbles me. It reminds me how precious life truly is yours, mine, and every person who calls Martin County home. It’s made me more thankful for each day, for every breath, and for every chance to serve.

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This experience has deepened my compassion and strengthened my purpose. It’s why I believe the role of Sheriff is not just about enforcing laws it’s about protecting lives, caring for people, and helping prevent heartbreak before it happens.​ Every statistic I review represents someone’s child, parent, or friend and it reminds me why I fight so hard for safety, fairness, and unity in our communities.

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When you vote for Marvin Hilliard for Sheriff, you’re voting for someone who doesn’t just see numbers he sees people, he sees families, and he sees a future worth protecting

 

I became a volunteer fireman for the Town of Oak City, and sub bus driver for Martin County School. I believe in helping my community in any way that I could.  Giving back to others and paying it forward is what I aim to accomplish in life. Hopefully, this will be mirrored by others that I come in contact with daily.

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Being the Sheriff is a tremendously complex responsibility that requires a great deal of knowledge, leadership, integrity and experience.

I believe that my experience, knowledge, personality, and integrity will offer new ideas. Above all, I believe my most important job will be to listen to you and to communicate with you regularly.

 

Together we can achieve great things.