Charles Daniel Storey was born on December 16, 1867, in Alamance County, North Carolina. Storey served as sheriff of Alamance County from 1916 to 1928. Storey failed to prevent the formation of a lynch mob in July 1920, leading to a confrontation between would-be lynchers and militia soldiers from the Durham Machine Gun Company. The incident resulted in the death of one white Alamance County citizen, James Ray, and the wounding of another. A second lynch mob formed the following month, and despite the recent turmoil, Sheriff Storey refused the request of Gov. Thomas W. Bickett to transport the prisoner to Raleigh for safe-keeping. The lynch mob succeeded this time, taking the life of John Jeffress. Storey later claimed he and six armed guards were "overpowered" while transporting the prisoner to the county jail. Despite his failures, Storey wasn't removed from office until he lost to a Republican candidate for sheriff in the 1928 election. He died in Burlington on December 3, 1964.