On January 19, 2022 Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver announced that he is running for re-election for a fourth term as Prosecuting Attorney.

Oliver said “we are so very proud of the work we have done over the last 12 years.  When I took office, Stoddard County Law Enforcement had not won a jury trial in over 7 years. Since then we have secured guilty verdicts in 98% of all jury trials conducted.  That’s child molesters, rapist, murders and drug dealers that are in prison and not on the streets with our families.  There is not a single street that’s unsafe to walk at night in Stoddard County.  Throughout every Major Case Squad investigation, I am sitting next the squad commander. Through the hard work and collaboration of our law enforcement officials and myself, there has not been one unsolved murder since I took office.”  

While crime rates in surrounding counties have surged, Stoddard County has defied that trend and crime has went down significantly during Oliver’s tenure.

Oliver further explained “Having the experience, skill, and being able to win jury trials is essential to a successful prosecutor’s office.  If you don’t know how to win jury trials, defendants don’t plead guilty.  Because defendants know I can and will beat them at trial, we have secured numerous life sentences in child molestation and murder cases as a result of guilty pleas.  That means child victims were not re-victimized by having to testify against their abuser and we still obtained life sentences.”

Over the past 12 years Oliver says that he has been executing his community based plan to fight drugs. “We send drug dealers to prison and work to get drug users freed from addiction.  Through our partnerships with John 3:16 ministries and similar programs, we have been restoring men and women as productive citizens through the transformational power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”  Oliver is currently leading a group that is building a 70-bed faith based recovery program here in Stoddard County.

In 2015, Oliver was named Arson Prosecutor of the Year for the entire State of Missouri by the Association of the State Fire Marshalls.

Oliver was the first area prosecutor ever to receive Commendation from the DEA for his work in combating bath salts and synthetic drugs.

In 2013, Oliver filed suit against the Missouri Department of Revenue to protect the second amendment rights of concealed carry permit holders whose information was being shared with the Obama Administration in violation of Missouri law. Oliver was appointed by the Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives to an investigative committee which discovered 167,000 concealed carry permit holder’s information had been shared with the Obama Administration.  The practice of the DOR was immediately halted when Oliver subpoenaed sitting Democrat Governor Jay Nixon to testify at a deposition.

Oliver continued, “the prosecutor is the one man who stands between our families and criminals being released back on the streets. No one can try your cases for you.  This is not a game.  The safety of the 30,000 citizens of Stoddard County rests squarely on the prosecutor’s shoulders.”

During the last 12 years Oliver has secured convictions on some of the most dangerous criminals.  When Steven Rendleman kidnapped a woman from an Advance bar and raped her in a remote graveyard, Oliver secured guilty verdicts after a week-long jury trial obtaining two life sentences plus 163 years.  When Ed Lusk terrorized downtown Dexter for months, burning law offices and destroying business, Oliver obtained a sentence of 120 years in prison.  The following are just a few of the convictions Oliver has obtained during his tenure in office:

Don Lafferty-  50 years- Attempted Murder/Arson

David Madsen- LIFE- Child Molestation

Steven McWhirter-  3 LIFE Sentences- Forcible Rape

Jimmy Sloan- LIFE- Statutory Sodomy 1st Degree

Donald Smittle- LIFE- Child Molestation 

Matt Cook- Life- 1st Degree Murder

Chad Anderson- LIFE- Child Molestation

Glenn Evans- 25 years- Murder 2nd degree 

Ed Lusk- 120 years- Arson/Burglary

Moses Grayson- 50 years- Forcible Rape

Charles Lebarre- LIFE Child Molestation 

Chris Strickler- LIFE Child Molestation

Verl Cato- 23 years- Child Pornography

David Mangrum- 30 years- HIV Exposure

Aaron Aarrant- 18 years- Trafficking Meth

Rodney Bowen- 25 years- Armed Robbery

William Cook- 20 years- Armed Robbery

Victoria Isaac- LIFE plus 20 years- Murder

Oliver concluded, “to coin the phrase of Ronald Regan, "Its morning in Stoddard County, why would we want to go back to where we were just a few short years ago.”