Charles Howland

The incumbent, Howland speaks of his three terms as Morrow County Prosecutor with pride. In more than two decades in felony experience he has won jury verdicts for offenses including kidnapping, abduction, felonious assault, rape, sexual battery, aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery, breaking and entering, felony theft, felony vandalism and felony drug trafficking.

He has successfully prosecuted six murder cases in which the perpetrators are in prison serving terms of thirty years to life and forty years to life.

Howland stated at recent candidates’ programs, that just as important as these successful prosecutions, is the needs of the victims’ families. He believes that it is important to work closely with the victims’ families and also to be as sensitive as possible to the needs of the victims’ families.

As Prosecutor, Howland has also represented all sixteen township boards, the Morrow County Health Department, Board of Elections, County Commissioners and other elected county officials.

“My staff and I have worked very hard at having a balanced approach to all the prosecutor’s duties. In most instances, we have been able to provide opinions and contract reviews in less than thirty days. We have the experience and talent to address Morrow County’s criminal and civil matters.

Howland maintained a private law practice in Morrow County for 18 years and also served as Village Solicitor for Mount Gilead and Chesterville.

Andrew Wick

Wick has met the qualifications to be certified by the Ohio Supreme Court to handle all criminal matters up to death penalty eligible murder cases. He has participated in the defense of two cases involving a murder, a case involving the attempted murder of a police officer, a case with rape charge implications and hundreds of felony and misdemeanor cases with some proceeding to jury trial and the rest resolved through plea bargaining.

Wick has litigated zoning matters in Knox County. He has also maintained certification as a Guardian Ad Litem, a children’s attorney in domestic and children’s services cases in Morrow and Knox Counties. This allows him to work with children who are the victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse and with developmental or physical disabilities.

Wick maintains a close relationship with members of the law enforcement community and would seek to have regular meetings with the heads of their agencies as prosecutor.

Wick believes that the schedules and workloads of the Prosecutor’s office and assistant prosecutors can be arranged more efficiently and can be more cost effective.

“I would seek to bring in more monies to the office by taking advantage of the Ohio Dept. of Child Support Enforcement’s program that allows for hourly billing for the prosecution of child support delinquency cases,” Wick stated. “Currently the Prosecutor’s office only pursues felony level delinquencies while declining the opportunity to prosecute misdemeanor and contempt level cases. By going after delinquent payments sooner there is a greater possibility of repayment and thus the county would see decrease in parents who are becoming reliant on public funding.”

“As your County Prosecutor, I would strive to bring our Morrow County values into the future through fiscal responsibility, professionalism and most importantly justice,” Wick said.

By Alberta Stojkovic

The Sentinel

Reach Jones at 419-946-3010 ext. 1803 or on Twitter @zJones_1239