Earlier this summer, the Post asked our readers what issues you wanted to hear candidates in contested races address leading up to the Nov. 5. election.
Based on that feedback, we developed a five-item questionnaire centering the issues most important to residents across Johnson County.
Each day this week, we’ll publish the candidates’ responses to one question. Read the candidates’ responses to the previous question about staffing, officer-involved shootings and diversion.
Today, we’re publishing candidates’ responses to the following question:
There have been several high-profile cases in recent years of drug overdose deaths, particularly those of teenagers, ending in criminal prosecutions of those who supplied the victims with the drugs. There have also been a string of prominent cases involving drug deals involving juvenile offenders that ended in violence. Under your watch, what will be the DA office’s approach to targeting and prosecuting crimes involving drugs?
Below are the answers the Post received from candidates on the issue:
Vanessa Riebli (Democratic)
From 2018 to 2023, Johnson County ranked second in the state for the number of fatal drug overdose deaths. The District Attorney’s Office must address drug related issues in our community by providing a more comprehensive and multi-jurisdictional approach.
For individuals who face addiction issues, treatment options must be expanded by allowing greater access to diversion and specialty courts. Efforts should be made to allow for courtesy supervision of out of state residents so that more individuals are eligible for these specialty court programs.
Especially as it relates to juveniles, early intervention with mental health and substance abuse programs is key to address underlying causes of criminal activity, in an attempt to prevent recidivism and violent crime with lifelong consequences.
For individuals who are distributing drugs in our community or committing drug related violent crimes, the District Attorney’s Office must focus more resources on targeting these individuals by rebuilding specialty units within the office, utilizing the high risk offender program previously established in the office, and working with prosecutors in other jurisdictions and law enforcement. The District Attorney’s Office should:
- Create a working group of federal and state prosecutors in order to establish best practices in the prosecution of drug overdose and distribution cases.
- Assign a prosecutor as a liaison with the Northeast Kansas Multi-Jurisdictional Task Force to ensure timely communications and assistance with investigations.
- Require that all fentanyl overdose cases be immediately reported to the Drug Unit in the District Attorney’s Office in order to coordinate efforts for prosecution.
Steve Howe (Republican, incumbent)
We have a very aggressive approach in going after drug dealers, especially those who deal death through fentanyl. I expressed concerns about overdose deaths in 2016. We have worked with law enforcement to make these cases a priority. These are difficult investigations to put together, however we have been successful in bringing justice to the families who have lost loved ones to overdose deaths.
There have also been a number of felony murder cases filed because of violence associated with the sale of marijuana. Unfortunately, many of the offenders are juveniles. We have successfully prosecuted these cases and held offenders responsible, protected the community and provided justice to victims’ families. I submitted legislation to the Kansas legislature in 2023 and was successful in increasing penalties for dealers of fentanyl.
We work hard to provide resources for users of illegal drugs, to aid them in breaking their cycle of drug abuse. I am proud of the work we have done with our local and federal law enforcement partners to fight this scourge in our community.
Coming up:
Tomorrow we will publish the candidates’ responses to the following question:
Some readers want to see the Johnson County DA’s office be more transparent. They point out that data about the office’s cases and prosecutions is hard to find. Some others say they’d also like the DA to more proactively release officer body camera footage, when appropriate, following high-profile incidents. What steps, if any, would you take to make the DA’s office’s processes and inner workings more transparent to the public?
