³ÉÆ·ÈËÊÓƵ

Career at KCSO

Pile grew up in Dunbar and attended West Virginia State University. She joined the KCSO in 2004 as a patrol deputy. She was temporarily reassigned to the Criminal Investigative Section and was given a permanent position in the division in 2013.

In 2020, Pile was appointed assistant chief of detectives to Snuffer. In a statement, Snuffer and Sheriff Joe Crawford said her appointment to detectives chief was an “effortless decision.�

“Ana has continuously demonstrated the hard work, dedication, and compassion necessary to oversee this critical division,� the statement said. “Detectives face some of the most complex and harrowing cases in law enforcement, and Ana leads with both professionalism and empathy. She is an inspiration to both her colleagues and the community.

Getting a case to prosecution

Pile said she thought a detective career would be interesting, but it was also the teamwork aspect that drew her to the specialty. While one person is the lead detective on the case, “it’s never, ever one person� who gets a case successfully to prosecution, she said.

For example, she said, in the child abuse case against Jeanne K. Whitefeather and Donald R. Lantz, which went to trial in January, detectives split up watching hours of surveillance video recorded at the family’s Sissonville home.

Pile testified in that trial, which resulted in convictions on 31 counts for Whitefeather and Lantz. Realizing that no one knows her cases as well as she does helps her testify, she said.

However, even testifying, preparing “solid� reports and maintaining a good rapport with victims doesn’t always lead to convictions in the courtroom.

Pile mentioned a 2013 homicide investigation. Two co-defendants pleaded guilty in the slaying of Kareem Hunter, 28. The “prime suspect,� as Pile called him, was acquitted by a jury.

“It was the jury’s decision. So, there was something with the way the trial and the evidence was presented that they just didn’t agree that he ought to be convicted,� she said.

Role models

With eight female deputies out of 101 total currently in the department, there haven’t been women in KCSO leadership roles to mentor Pile, but the women at the department are supportive of each other, she said.

Another female deputy, Cpl. Ashley Keadle is a detective under Pile.

She also said she is inspired by how well Lt. Autumn Davis — who was the first female chief of detectives for the Charleston Police Department — did in her role. Davis, who attended WVSU with Pile, is now the Patrol Division bureau chief.

Snuffer and retired KCSO Detective Chief Greg Young are two of Pile’s role models. Young gave her an opportunity to join the detective bureau, and Snuffer is a “wealth of information,� Pile said.

“Anybody that works at this department will tell you, if you have a question, if you don’t know how to do something, ask Snuffer,� she said.

Families first

Both men encouraged their detectives to put their families first, something that has helped Pile balance her work with being a mom of two.

“I definitely want to keep what Snuffer tried to instill in us, which was ‘Families first, work is next,’� she said. “Everybody up there [in the detective bureau] has a family of some sort. Whether it’s kids, or they’re taking care of their parents or whatever.�

Pile said she also wants to expand from five to six two-member detective teams. She plans to continue to send detectives to as much training as possible.

“This job is not our life, but it’s a struggle to keep that balance,� she said. “I have just been very fortunate to be a part of a department that emphasizes family.�