The heart of everything that my office focuses on is the fair and zealous prosecution of individuals who violate our laws.  I serve as a partner to our Warren County law enforcement officials, answering their questions, offering advice, providing legal training throughout the year, and most importantly implementing strategies to keep our communities safe. 

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To keep our communities safe, I have led in the following ways: 

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• In 2017, we started the Warren County Drug Interdiction Unit, a team comprised of all Warren County law enforcement agencies dedicated to stopping the flow of illegal narcotics into our community.

• In 2022, we started the Warren County Drug Task Force, with our partners at the Indianola Police Department, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, and the Carlisle Police Department.  

• In 2023, we started the Warren County Special Response Team (SRT), a specialized team of officers from the Indianola Police Department, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, and the Carlisle Police Department.  The SRT is trained to conduct high-risk entries into residences, businesses, or school emergencies.

• Between 2023 - present, I funded the pilot FLOCK License Plate Recognition Readers (FLOCK) for the Indianola Police Department.  In 2023 the Indianola Police Department and I began to explore the implementation of the FLOCK system in the city of Indianola.  Eventually, I directed Warren County ARPA funds to purchase twelve cameras in Indianola for a two-year pilot program that began in early 2024.  The program has found numerous wanted individuals and even found a missing man with dementia from the State of Missouri. In 2024, the program was expanded to the cities of Norwalk and Carlisle through the purchase of six additional cameras from my funds. 

• Between 2017 – present, I directly paid for numerous law enforcement officers to attend vital trainings such as the annual Conference on Crimes against Women in Dallas, Texas, Dessert Snow (drug interdiction training), Street Cop Training, along with specialized training for officers involved with the SRT.

• Between 2017 – present, I purchased equipment for our local law enforcement partners including vital equipment for the SRT, drones, and a specialized camera to photograph injuries sustained by victims of domestic violence.  

 

I’m sure that people can find examples where it appears that justice was not served.  It could be that the charge didn’t appear to be high enough or the sentence wasn’t long enough.  I could tell you some myself.  Please keep in mind that the Court is the entity that ultimately sentences an individual for their criminal activity, not the County Attorney.  Don’t forget that we are dealing with real people, a family member, a friend, a neighbor, that have been affected by someone else’s criminal actions.  I often ask potential jurors during jury selection if they could imagine explaining to twelve strangers their most intimate consensual activity in open court.  Most cannot imagine having to do that.  Now imagine having to do the same in a non-consensual situation.  It always comes back to real people in really challenging situations.

 

I follow two principles: 

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1. Have open and honest communication with victims.  Strongly consider what they would like to happen in their case, and 

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2. “Do no more harm than necessary.”  Our cases are not about us, the prosecuting attorneys; they are about the people that have been victimized.  

 

Find a solution if the victim genuinely cannot get through a trial.  Do what you can to hold criminals accountable.  Sometimes the outcome goes against what the community wants or thinks should happen.  Ultimately, it is my role to find the balance between what the victim or the victim’s situation demands and what the community thinks is right.  Twenty-five years as a prosecutor gives me a good idea of what the right balance is.