DA Candidates Cornuaud, Gustin Look at Drugs, Eight-Liners

Editor

Two of the three Hunt County candidates for district attorney spoke Thursday night at the political forum sponsored by the Lake Tawakoni Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Each candidate was given two minutes to make an opening statement. Questions were posed by moderator chamber President Jim Johnson that had been submitted by audience members, followed by a closing statement of one minute by each candidate.

Scott Cornuaud, Republican, and Carol Gustin, Democrat, spoke. Third candidate Noble Walker, Republican, did not attend.

"I think we are at a very important crossroads in Hunt County right now," Gustin said. "We have for the first time in over 20 years the ability to change — really change — the way the district attorney’s office fights crime."

"You and I have an opportunity to change the status quo and see that the district attorney’s office is run with integrity and strong, decisive leadership," Gustin said. "Together we can demand the vigorous prosecution of criminals — and I mean all criminals — every crime. From the ones that are in our county peddling drugs to those that are molesting our children to the copper thefts. All of these criminals need to be vigorously prosecuted."

She said, "We will ensure that all citizens have equal access to justice, regardless of their race, their religion or social standing. We will protect those most vulnerable to crime including our children and our elderly."

Cornuaud said, "We’ve got a huge drug problem — and we’ve got a huge drug problem in South Hunt County."

He said, "I’m sick and tired of having drugs affect our kids. Our kids are dying. It’s being distributed. If you distribute methamphetamines, for example, you come to Hunt County. In South Hunt County you can pretty much get away with it."

Cornuaud said, "I think we need a district attorney’s office that’s going to proactively deal with the drug problem that we have in Hunt County — not just react to the cases that are coming to you and prosecute them but proactively deal with it — partner with the sheriff’s department, find out where these master drug dealers are that are running rampant and not having any repercussions for their activities at all. Deal with those major drug dealers to cut down on the drug problem that we have in Hunt County. It’s affecting our economy. It’s affecting all of Hunt County."

The district attorney candidates were asked what could be done about eight-liner gaming machines and prosecuting their owners that were arrested.

Cornuaud answered first.

"We’ll if you’re going to arrest somebody and charge them with organized crime for running eight liners," Cornuaud said, first, go after the people who are organizing it rather than the $5 an hour employees.

"As soon as you do that, you go back and if they reopen like they’re doing and you arrest them again," he said. "It’s not that hard. If they’re engaging in illegal activity, you go arrest them for what they’re doing. It’s not hard to find out who’s doing payouts. You can have a detective walk in with some money and ask for a payout and they’ll give the detective the payouts."

Cornuaud said, "Plus it’s a drug haven. I’ve been doing criminal defense for nearly 10 years. I know there’s a lot of these eight liners. They’re drug havens. They’re infested with illegal activity. And they need to be shut down if they are engaging in illegal activities. Not everybody is doing it that goes there. If they are engaging in illegal activity they need to go and shut them down."

Gustin answered, "People that need to be responsible are the people that are behind these eight-liners."

She said the way to do that was to have people investigate them.

Gustin said, "You have to have really well-investigated cases in order to get to the people you need to. That comes from being out in the community, listening to the people. You know in your own community where the crime is. People talk. You hear about it. Those are the things that law enforcement needs to do."

She said, "As far as the prosecution of those cases, they need to be worked as vigorously as they can be and then hold these people accountable for jury trial or some plea bargains that makes sure that it hurts them in their pockets, because I think that’s how you get rid of it."

In his closing statement, Cornuaud said, "I think it’s time we change what we’re doing in Hunt County and Greenville to include the rest of the county. We need to include South Hunt County. We need to have somebody that’s proactive in dealing with the drug problem."

He said, "I’ll say that over and over and over again. We have a drug problem. Look at the internet. Look at how everybody else around the entire country thinks about us. We’ve got unusually high crime rates.

"If you go down to the jail and look at what kind of crimes are being committed, 90 percent of them approximately are somehow drug related. We’ve got good people doing very, very bad things because they’re on drugs.

"You’ve got very, very bad people distributing them, making them. Methamphetamines are easy to make. They make it here in South Hunt County, and they distribute it to our kids."

Gustin closed by saying, "I feel very strongly that together we can create a safer Hunt County."

She said, "For the first time in over 20 years we’re going to have an opportunity to actually create the way the district attorney’s office is going to fight crime."

She said she believed the way to do that was to do it as a community and fight crime where the community says it is.