A new era of law enforcement in DeWitt, Goliad and Refugio counties began January 1 with the oath of office sworn by Brian Cromeens, the next 24th Judicial District Attorney.
Supporters filled the upstairs courtroom of the DeWitt County Courthouse to witness the oath, which was administered by District Judge Stephen Williams.
“This has been a long time coming,” Cromeens said after his oath, “from November of 2023 when I first decided to run until now. We are excited to get started.”
Cromeens introduced his staff, including Richard Mackay, assistant district attorney; Joel Johnson, investigator; Whitney Smith, Goliad administrator; Joanna Camacho, Refugio administrator; and Leigh Ann Adams Harryman, DeWitt County administrator.
The previous DA, Robert Lassman, did not run for re-election amid controversy and political infighting. Cromeens won the March 2024 Republican primary against Tim Poynter, an assistant DA in Lassman’s office. With no Democratic opposition on the November ballot, the March primary determined the office holder.
Cromeens vowed to take a fresh look at the tri-county DA operations and remove as much of the politics as possible from the office.
“There wasn’t any transition between Lassman and myself,” Cromeens said. “So it’s about getting a grip on the caseload, getting our staff acquainted with the docket and trying to make this as seamless as possible.”
In his campaign, Cromeens pointed out the high dismissal rate in the 24th District office as an indicator of problems with the status quo.
“I think we can address this issue by a more defined approach toeverycase – from the moment it walks in through the door to the moment, in some cases, where that case goes to trial,” he said. “I think we can bring that dismissal rate more into the norm of the state average.”
During the dust up with DA Lassman, the central administrative office was moved from DeWitt County to Goliad. Cromeens said moving the central office back to DeWitt County is not a high priority for him.
“It was made a political issue during the campaign,” Croomeens said, “but we have other things we need to do. We need to see the caseload and re-staff the office.” He said pushing to move the office back would be a knee-jerk reaction when there are other things that are more important.
Since he lives in Cuero, Cromeens will have his personal office here, but all three counties will have district attorney offices in their courthouses and be fully staffed.
Another goal of his office will be having a more public presence, not only of himself but his staff as well.
“I’m going to be encouraging my staff to be more available within the community, so people know these are the people who are working for you and here’s what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said.
He said social media will be one of the ways his office shares what is going on with the DA Office. On January 1, Cromeens created a Facebook page entitled “Brian Michael Cromeens,
District Attorney.”
Photos from the Oath of Office ceremony show beaming family members, including his wife Maggie, son, Hayes, and daughters Libby and Ruby. County Attorney Jay Condie, who is also a friend, gifted Cromeens a framed antique law license that was blank and symbolized a new start. Friends were invited to sign the back of the frame to commemorate the launch of Cromeen’s career, seeking justice on behalf of the public.
