Governor Fallin Wednesday announced she is appointing Jack Thorp as district attorney for District 27, which covers Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties.
He replaces Brian Kuester, who resigned to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
Thorp, of Wagoner, will serve as district attorney for the remainder of Kuester’s term, which expires in January 2019.
“Jack Thorp has been a prosecutor for nearly 20 years and has extensive jury trial and courtroom experience in prosecuting complex cases,” said Fallin. “He is mindful of the critical nature of public service, and has exhibited a dedication to serving the public. He will serve the people of Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties well as district attorney.”
Kuester, elected district attorney in 2010, recommended Thorp, who currently serves as his top assistant, to replace him.
“He has played a critical and vital role in creating a district attorney’s office in which the people of this district can place their trust,” Kuester wrote in a letter to the governor. “His reputation is impeccable among the honest, law-abiding people who know him.”
Previously, Thorp worked five years as a Tulsa County assistant district attorney, heading up one of its five felony teams and managing more than 2,000 felony cases a year. Before that, he was a deputy prosecuting attorney in the Fifth District, which covered Franklin, Johnson and Pope counties in Arkansas.
Thorp earned his law degree from the University of Arkansas and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville, Arkansas.
