MEET JOHN
A Life Dedicated to Public Service
Beaver County Roots.
This is home. I grew up in Hanover Township and graduated from South Side High School. My dad worked security at the nuclear plant in Shippingport for 44 years. That's where he met my mom. Later, she worked at Walmart and cleaned houses. Today, I live on the same road in Ohioville where she grew up, and where my grandparents and great-grandparents lived.
U.S. Navy Veteran.
I enlisted in the U.S. Navy out of Monaca. They trained me to operate a nuclear reactor, then sent me to a fast-attack submarine in the Pacific. In nuclear operations, you learn that the devil's in the details. Integrity isn't optional when you're running a reactor.
Teacher.
I graduated from Slippery Rock and joined an AmeriCorps service program that helps you obtain a teaching credential and "deploys" you to underserved parts of America. They sent me to the Texas-Mexico border. I taught English and special education. While teaching, I used the GI Bill to go to seminary.
Defense Attorney.
I graduated from a top-20 law school after clerking for the Texas Attorney General's criminal appeals division and a rural public defender, and completing advanced clinical training in death penalty litigation.
My first job after graduation was serving as chief of staff at a criminal defense firm. I supervised 15 to 20 staff members at any given time while making court appearances and fighting for post-conviction relief.
After six months, I branched out to start a nonprofit criminal defense firm out of a church. We took court appointments, offered low-cost legal aid, and connected clients with mentors. I fought like hell for them in court. Behind closed doors, some needed grace, and some needed tough love.
When an investigator left exculpatory details out of an arrest affidavit, my client was wrongly arrested. In jail, he attempted suicide. The jail knew, and still didn’t get him the mental health care he needed. When I called out the arrest, the State charged him with arson for an episode in his cell. We argued it was payback. The judge found the prosecution presumptively vindictive, dismissed the case, and told the county to spend its money on training instead.
As a prosecutor, I saw firsthand that law enforcement officers don't want to work next to corruption, either. I give everyone a fair shake, but I call balls and strikes.
Some clients needed a second chance. Some needed to be in prison. I learned to tell the difference.
Prosecutor.
Eventually, I came to believe my skills would do more good on the prosecution side, and I wanted to go to trial as often as possible.
I started as a misdemeanor prosecutor, working everything from DUI to animal cruelty. I tried an indecent assault case and two DUI cases in front of a jury and won all three. Where I worked in Hidalgo County, Texas, it usually took one to two years for a misdemeanor prosecutor to be promoted to felony prosecutor. I was promoted to the felony division after five months.
On my first day as a felony prosecutor, I was responsible for more than 1,000 felony cases. Human smuggling and drugs. Child abuse. Murder.
I presented cases to a grand jury, worked with victims, and fought bonds set far too low for dangerous and repeat offenders. I tried another three cases in front of a jury. This time: murder, aggravated assault... and yes, even a dog theft. I picked juries, questioned experts, cross-examined defendants, and persuaded jurors to vote to convict.
I had seen from the defense side what gets a conviction thrown out, and prosecution mentors trained me to build cases that would hold up on appeal. We got results. A man who stabbed a 16-year-old: 25 years.
A sex offender who failed to register after his release from prison: we sent him back for another 10 years. Failure to register isn't a paperwork problem. It's a way to hide from police and parents.
And a repeat sex offender charged with aggravated sexual assault: 55 years by plea. His lawyers knew we were ready to go to trial and would seek two stacked life sentences, and they knew I don't bluff. Their client took the plea.
Now I'm home to serve you, Beaver County.
When a victim comes forward, we will look for lawful ways to say yes, not the easiest way to say no.
I'm from here. I love being a prosecutor. I'm not afraid to speak out.
Together, we will make it expensive for criminals to do their business in Beaver County.
FOLLOW THE JOURNEY ON SOCIAL MEDIA
