Styles began his career with the department in 1966 as a correction officer at the Yancey County prison. He moved through the ranks, becoming superintendent of the prison in 1977.

In 1984 Styles left the department and worked as a criminal investigator for the Burnsville Police Department and as a chief deputy sheriff with the Yancey County Sheriff’s Department. He returned to his job as superintendent of Yancey Correctional Center in 1993. u