Texas County Prosecutor Parke Stevens Jr. will step away as one of the county’s top law enforcement officials as he begins a one-year deployment Friday to Afghanistan.
Stevens, an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, said he has been involuntarily deployed to the country for a term that ends in March 2020.
“Rest assumed the prosecuting attorney duties will be completed,” said Stevens.
He said he hired Jason MacPherson who was the Wright County prosecuting attorney for 12 years and James Weber, an assistant prosecutor in Texas and Dent counties, to operate the office.
“I am confident both of these exceptional attorneys will be dedicated to serving Texas County and seeking justice,” Stevens said.
The office will continue to be staffed and operate normally in his absence. Stevens said his salary will be returned to county coffers during his absence.
In a statement, Stevens wrote: “Citizens of Texas County, let me start this difficult message by saying thank you for electing me to be your prosecuting attorney. Every day I am excited to come to work and do a job that I love. As long as I am your prosecuting attorney, I will perform this job to the best of my abilities in order to seek justice for the citizens of our county and the citizens of the state of Missouri.”
Stevens was elected without opposition last year. He began a second four-year term Jan. 1.