Five things to know about the Cary police chief’s residency and vehicle use
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Cary Police Chief Terry Sult travels to his Lincoln County home
- Sult logged nearly 42,000 miles in town-assigned take-home vehicle.
- The town paid Sult’s living expenses until a month after his permanent hiring.
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Cary under scrutiny
The town of Cary has been in the spotlight since late November, when Town Manager Sean Stegall was put on administrative leave without any explanation from the town. Stegall resigned Dec. 13, 2025, amid reports of questionable spending. Here is ongoing coverage from The News & Observer.
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Cary Police Chief Terry Sult has a take-home vehicle assigned to him so that he can respond quickly as the town’s top cop, but there’s an unusual twist – he can use it to drive out to his home in Lincoln County 180 miles away.
Here are five key takeaways from The News & Observer’s exclusive reporting:
- Sult has two spacious homes in the Charlotte area, real estate records show. One is along Lake Norman in Mecklenburg County; the other is in the Lincoln County town of Iron Station. It’s the latter that he and his wife are registered to vote from.
- Then-Town Manager Sean Stegall hired Sult to be interim chief in October 2021, and made him permanent chief nine months later. The town paid Sult’s living expenses until a month after his hire became permanent, but has not released records to The N&O showing how much that cost. He was required to have a residence in town at that point.
- Sult has put nearly 42,000 miles on his take-home vehicle – a black 2022 Ford F150 pickup – often driving more than 1,000 miles a month. But the town says he is not required to record where he drove the vehicle.
- Interim Town Manager Russ Overton has confirmed that Sult travels to his home in Lincoln County, but did not know exactly how often. He and a former town board member say they saw no issue with him traveling to and from the home. They and a current board member – who did not know about the Charlotte-area residences – say Sult has always been available when needed.
- Sult confirmed in a text he has the homes, but said he lives in Cary. He declined further comment. The town pays him a $250,000 salary, which rivals that of the chiefs in Raleigh and Durham, two larger cities with more employees and more crime.
This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Five things to know about the Cary police chief’s residency and vehicle use."
