From staff reports
LEWISTOWN - Mifflin County District Attorney Stephen S. Snook has announced his intention to seek re-election in the upcoming primary.
Snook, a Republican, was appointed to the position of District Attorney in 1993 and has served in this position since.
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Steve Snook
Snook said his usual caseload is
substantial and consists of prosecuting everything from drug cases to sexual assault cases.
Snook has an extensive background as a prosecutor and was named a Special Assistant United States Attorney for the Middle District Federal Court.
In addition, Snook has many years of experience with criminal cases.
"I've been practicing law for nearly 30 years and prosecuting criminal cases for 18 years. I've successfully prosecuted thousands of cases including drug delivery cases, child sexual abuse, criminal homicide, robbery, burglary, DUI, and domestic violence resulting in significant prison sentences in appropriate cases," Snook said in a release.
Snook said he has experience prosecuting drug dealers both locally and federally.
Snook said to help combat the drug problem locally, he heads the Mifflin County Drug Task Force. The taskforce investigates all types of drug activity and uses forfeited assets to fund continuing drug investigations.
"Whenever we can, we try to prosecute the source of drugs coming into Mifflin County and in order to do that it is necessary and certainly very helpful to use the drug assets available in the federal system," Snook said in a release, adding this is important because a lot of the drugs in Lewistown come from cities outside of Mifflin County.
Although drugs are a significant part of his work, Snook realizes there is more to criminal cases in Mifflin County.
Snook said he helped establish a local Domestic Violence Intervention Group that deals with the perpetrators of domestic violence.
Snook said he is also an active member of the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association Child Abuse Coalition. Snook helped establish a local multi-disciplinary team which helps investigate cases of physical and sexual child abuse.
Snook said he is certified through the National District Attorneys' Association as a child abuse prosecutor. He is also an invited regular member of the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Medical-Legal Advisory Board, which reviews child deaths from across the state.
In addition, Snook, along with the Lewistown Hospital, the Abuse Network and local law enforcement, established a certified nurse examiners' program at the hospital where specially-trained nurses can now do all adult rape exams. Snook has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Abuse Network and serves on the Domestic Violence Taskforce.
When asked about his most important case as district attorney, Snook said he was very proud of the role he played in investigating and prosecuting the former Mifflin County Prothonotary, Sue Ellen Saxton for theft of nearly $1 million in taxpayer funds.
Although Snook said he is proud of his accomplishments, he looks forward to the future as well.
"The most important task ahead is the integration of the newly-formed Lewistown Borough Police Department into the criminal justice system," Snook said in a release. "I see my experience in prosecution as invaluable in accomplishing this task."
Snook said he is 1973 graduate of Penn Highlands, a 1977 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania and received his law degree from Duquesne University in 1982. At Duquesne, he won two book awards and Law Week Award for having the highest grade point average in his third-year class.
Snook said he is a lifelong resident of Lewistown and is the father of two children, and an active member of the Trinity United Church of Christ.
