Almarode ‘Took Over Facility In Crisis’ In 2017
The Rockbridge Regional Jail Commission has announced the retirement of Superintendent Derek Almarode, effective July 1, 2026.
Colonel Almarode has served as the Rockbridge jail superintendent for the last eight years and was the interim superintendent for the jail for over a year before he assumed this role.
“My journey here has been challenging, but also very rewarding,” Almarode said in a press release from the Jail Commission. “It has been an immense honor to serve the Commission, the staff and the communities of the greater Rockbridge area.”
The press release noted that his “vision and his ‘hand up approach’ to the inmate population has transformed the jail’s rehabilitation programs, peer services, and community outreach the jail now provides.”
A recent accomplishment for the regional jail under Almarode’s leadership was accreditation from the National Commission on Correctional Health Care, a first for the jail.
Almarode began his career with the jail in January 2016 as a lieutenant under then-superintendent John Higgins, and was promoted to captain within his first year. He began serving as interim superintendent in March 2017 after Higgins resigned in the wake of an investigation into alleged crimes related to abuse of power at the jail. Higgins would eventually be sentenced in federal court in 2021 to 51 months in prison.
“Derek took over an organization and a facility in crisis, and our community now has a top-notch correctional facility as evidenced by the jail’s recent accreditation,” said long-serving jail commissioner Ed Hoskins. “Derek has led a team through one of the most challenging periods to now become a regional leader in regional cooperation. I am grateful for his years of service and excellence in leadership.”
Prior to his roles at the Rockbridge Regional Jail, Almarode had served with the Virginia Department of Corrections from 1991 to 1994 and with the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office from 1994 until 2015.
The Jail Commission will meet on Jan. 13 at 9:30 a.m. at 258 Greenhouse Road to review a draft plan to recruit the next superintendent. The Commission intends to have the next superintendent on board in June so that she or he can have some overlap with Almarode. To achieve this, the Commission intends to interview interested parties for this public safety role in April.
“Derek will leave big shoes to fill,” said Commission Chairman Jason Tyree, “though I am confident many people will be eager to take over this organization now that it is so well run.”
