HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — New Cabell County Prosecutor Jason Spears will be sworn in Wednesday afternoon after being on the job for a month.
A swearing in ceremony is set for 1 p.m. in front of Cabell County Circuit Judge Paul Farrell.
The Cabell County Commission appointed Spears to the position on Jan. 2. He replaces former Prosecutor Corky Hammers who left to become a circuit court judge after Judge Christopher Chiles retired in October.
Spears said his top priority is to make Cabell County a safe place for everyone.
“I want the mom and dad to not fear about walking with their child in the park or the parent worried about their children in school. That’s the number one focus is the safety. That being said, we have to figure out why crimes are continuously being committed,” he told MetroNews.
Spears said he’s always been passionate about this kind of work. His first job was a 911 dispatcher in the county. He was elected as a family court judge in Cabell County in 2016. Before taking the bench, he was an assistant prosecutor in Cabell County, specializing in juveniles, violent crime and narcotics.
As the prosecutor assigned to Cabell County’s Adult and Juvenile Drug Courts, Spears said it’s been his mission to address addiction. He said the drug problem often starts at home at a young age.
“No body wakes up on Day 1 and says I’m a heroin addict and I’m going to commit crimes. That just doesn’t happen. It starts somewhere. Part of my focus, in addition to fighting crime with our local law enforcement, is to try to fix the problem,” he said.
Spears said he also wants to help enhance treatment services in Huntington and surrounding areas by working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other federal law enforcement agencies.
“I think that we have to have tighter control over what our treatment plans are. I think that’s kind of gone awry in our world. Huntington has a ton of treatment areas and house and I want to make sure those are done legally and properly, not only to protect the citizens but to protect the folks that are in their care,” he said.
Huntington, which serves as the county seat, is often referred to as “ground zero” for the opioid epidemic. Spears said they’re in a unique location right on the border with Ohio and Kentucky. He said his mission is to crack down on out-of-state drug dealers.
“My goal is to be very tough on the dealers, on the folks that are coming from out-of-state, that are coming across that bridge to have a second thought that they want to come into Cabell County and bring that poison with them,” Spears said.
Spears said he also wants to help veterans suffering from drug abuse by creating more programs for them.
“We have a lot of veterans in our area that have a different need that lend to crimes. I saw that on the bench for the last seven years where it starts with a veteran having a PTSD issue or having medical issues related to their service and then they start having marital problems. That’s where it starts,” he said.
Spears’ term runs through the end of 2024, but he said he plans to run to keep his seat in this year’s election. He is running unopposed for the Republican ticket.