Sheriff Jim Valenti

Jim Valenti
Roswell character
First appearance	"Pilot"
Last appearance	"Graduation"
Created by	Jason Katims
Portrayed by	William Sadler
In-universe information
Species	Human
Gender	Male
Title	Sheriff
Children	Kyle Valenti

Sheriff Jim Valenti is a fictional character created by Melinda Metz for the young adults book series Roswell High and adapted by Jason Katims for the 1999-2002 American science fiction television series Roswell. He was portrayed by William Sadler in the television series.

Season one

Valenti is frequently the antagonist in the first season, albeit a sympathetic one. His father was also the sheriff of Roswell, and was ridiculed for his insistence that aliens live among humans. Valenti inherited from his father an old autopsy photograph from the 1950s of a body killed by inexplicable means, with a silver handprint on the chest.

In the pilot episode, Valenti is called into the local restaurant, the Crashdown Café, where a shooting has occurred. Although no one was apparently injured, and the young waitress Liz Parker insists that the red mess on her uniform is ketchup, a pair of tourists insist they saw the girl get shot, and a young man run up to her and do something to her before running off. There is also no bullet found in the cafe. Valenti notes the presence of empty bottles of Tabasco sauce on one of the tables, and later notices more in the jeep of teenager Max Evans.

Valenti becomes convinced that Max was in the Crashdown that day and that he somehow healed Liz. He steals Liz's waitress uniform, which has a bullet hole in it, and gives it to a friend of his in the FBI for analysis. His son Kyle then tells him that he saw a silver handprint on Liz's stomach when they were on a date, similar to the one in the photograph, and Sheriff Valenti suspects that Max is not a teenager but rather a decades-old alien and a murderer. The FBI agent returns, telling him there was nothing found on the dress, and proceeds to remove any files on aliens from Valenti's office. Valenti is convinced, however, that the FBI is lying to him and conducting its own investigation.

He continually investigates Max throughout the first season, but gradually becomes aware that, although he is an alien, Max is a good person. When Max is kidnapped by the Special Unit of the FBI, Liz comes to Valenti for help. He helps rescue Max from their stronghold and is let in on his secret: Max, his sister Isabel and their friend Michael Guerin are aliens that were raised as humans.

Valenti then helps the group vanquish the Special Unit. When Kyle is shot and dying in the melee, Max heals him, and Valenti expresses his gratitude, promising to always be there for Max and the others.

Season two

Valenti loses his job as sheriff, so he creates a band and calls them the Kit Shickers.

Season three

In the series finale episode "Graduation", Valenti is now deputy sheriff. He finds out that Kyle is leaving Roswell and lets him go.