Tribune-Herald
June 16, 1987
New help comes none too soon for McLennan DA’s office
By Drew Parma
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Although McLennan County District Attorney Vic Feazell is on trial in an Austin Federal court, his office has made a comeback from being three attorneys down to being fully staffed.
“For the last couple of years, we’ve had at least one position open due to the high turnover that is typical of district attorneys’ offices around the state,” said John Ben Suttler, Feazell’s administrative assistant. “It’s a comfortable feeling being fully staffed.”
The district attorney’s office has suffered a rash of defections, with three veteran felony prosecutors leaving the staff since the first of the year.
And the new hires have come none too soon. Not only has Feazell’s trial on federal bribery and mail fraud charges taken him out of action, but key aides such as first Assistant District Deanna Fitzgerald and felony chief Dennis Garvey have missed days to testify.
“It means everybody’s daily responsibility has increased,” said Ms. Fitzgerald, who missed one trial because of a federal subpoena. “It’s just an extra problem of making sure everything is covered for the people who have to go to Austin.”
But Ms. Fitzgerald said the trial has not forced the office to lighten its workload. “Everybody has pitched in and worked a lot harder. No one minds doing what has to be done,” Mrs. Fitzgerald said.
One new attorney who got a baptism of fire is Karen Amos, a new felony prosecutor from the Bexar County district attorney’s office. Within the first week of her June 1 arrival in Waco, she presented 27 cases to a McLennan County grand jury.
Ms. Amos had four years of experience with the Sand Antonio office, including heading the office’s newly created family violence unit for a year. She said she chose Waco for its location.
“I’m from Jacksonville and never had family in San Antonio,” Ms. Amos said. “I wanted to be in a city bigger than Jacksonville, but close enough so I could get over there and visit.”
The need for a top felony prosecutor was filled by El-Hadi T. Shabazz, a towering man who practiced law in Detroit for several years before taking up practice in Waco, then joining the district attorney’s office.
Shabazz said a strong Texas connection persuaded him to come to Waco and leave the “urban decay and high crime” of Detroit behind.
“Children grow up too fast in that environment,” Shabass said. “My father is from East Texas, and my mother is from the Panhandle. I’ve probably got thousands of relatives in Texas, including in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.”
Shabass has been active in efforts to re-establish Boy Scout troops in area churches, especially in East Waco, and sees his new job as an extension of that effort.
Shabass said he also sees his position as a role model for the black community.
“The fact that I was appointed assistant district attorney…gives me the opportunity to approach the problems of black youth with more credibility,” he said. “Anything I can do to prevent crime, by helping the youth to have a better start and be productive, I’ll do. That’s important to me.”
The final slot, a misdemeanor prosecutor’s chair, was filled by Jim Vandygriff. His Waco connection comes from a bachelor of business administration degree earned at Baylor University before he enter law school.
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