Will also take a community approach to educating on the evils of gang and gun violence
WALTON COUNTY, GA (Jan. 26, 2023) -During the month of December 2022, Alcovy Judicial Circuit District Attorney Randy McGinley made the case and solicited the initial funding for a gun/gang violent crime prosecutor. The Alcovy Judicial Circuit covers Newton and Walton County and McGinley asked for $30,000 each from both counties as well as the cities of Covington and Monroe for the 2023 Fiscal Year. All jurisdictions were on board and McGinley recently announced that Senior Assistant DA Alex Stone has been commissioned to fill this role.
“She has handled criminal matters in both counties, including gang crimes, serious violent crime, sex crimes, and murders. She is a perfect fit for this position which will include working closely with all local law enforcement agencies, as well as state and federal agencies. Alex’s abilities in and out of the courtroom will be a great benefit to Newton and Walton Counties,” McGinley said in making the announcement. “Every day we hear and see news about gang and gun violence across our country and in our state. While Newton and Walton Counties are great communities to live and work in, we are not immune from these issues. Sadly, some of our own communities and community members have been greatly and negatively affected by this.”
McGinley said there has been a rise in violent cases in which the relevant parties have ties to Newton, Walton and surrounding counties.
“Having a prosecutor dedicated to handling these cases will ensure the best outcomes and make our communities safer. These cases will often focus on larger, longer investigations; include multiple defendants; and require expert knowledge of gangs, ballistics, social media, and other important evidence,” McGinley said. “This is part of my office’s multi-prong approach to help combat gang and gun violence. On cases involving gun violence, we have strengthened the recommendations of probation (post confinement) conditions. We have worked together with law enforcement to prioritize gang and gun violence cases. We worked together with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Covington Police Department, Monroe Police Department, Social Circle Police Department, Porterdale Police Department, and Oxford Police Department to obtain State grant money over $100,000 to help combat criminal gang activity in our circuit.”
He said Stone will also work with others in the office in addressing gang activity before it starts and will be reaching out to schools, community organizations, and others to meet and discuss the evils of gang culture with the youth and parents.
“We believe that prosecuting violent gang and gun offenders discouraging our youth from joining gangs or committing gun violence is the best approach, long term, to this issue. Please do not hesitate to reach out to Alex or me if you have questions or our like Office to come speak to your civic or community group,” McGinley said.
Stone can be reached at astone@pacga.org and McGinley reached at rmcginley@pacga.org.
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