Sheriff James Wilson grew up in a small east Texas town and graduated from high school in Buna, Texas.  In 1963, he was employed by the Texas Department of Public Safety and assigned to the greater Houston area.  While there, he served as a Driver’s License Patrolman and a Texas Highway Patrolman before being promoted to the DPS Criminal Intelligence Service in 1972.  He served as an Agent Investigator Sergeant and Captain. 

In 1985, Wilson was promoted to Assistant Commander of the DPS Criminal Intelligence Service and moved to DPS Headquarters in Austin in 1986.  There, he was promoted to Commander of the DPS Narcotic Service.  In 1987, he was promoted to the position of Assistant Chief of the DPS Criminal Law Enforcement Division.  In 1988, he was promoted to the position of Lieutenant Colonel, the Assistant Director of the Department of Public Safety.  In 1991, he was promoted to Colonel and became the Director of the Texas Department of Public Safety.  He stayed in that capacity and retired from the DPS in 1996 after 33 ½ years of service to the people of Texas. 

He was elected to the position of Sheriff by the people of Williamson County in 2004.

Sheriff Wilson is married to Sharon Wilson and they have three children.  He graduated from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas in 1979 with a Juris Doctorate Degree and Sam Houston State University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science Degree.