Piocos Runs Unopposed For County Attorney Position

After being appointed the Roosevelt County attorney last February by the Roosevelt County Commissioners, Frank Piocos is running unopposed for the position in this year’s election.

“I filed the first day,” Piocos said of his interest in serving as county attorney.

Prior to becoming the county attorney, Piocos served as deputy county attorney under Jim Patch and then under Austin Knudsen.

“I learned a lot from both of them,” Piocos said. “Patch knew the criminal law and civil things well here.”

Piocos said the biggest changes he had to adjust to as county attorney included making more decisions on charges along with an increase in public relations.

“I have an open door, open phone policy,” Piocos noted.

One of his goals for his term of office is reducing the number of vehicle fatalities in the county.

“A majority of fatalities in vehicles are alcohol-related,” Piocos explained. “My main goal is to focus on the reduction of fatalities.”

He said the top reasons for fatalities include alcohol, not wearing a seat belt and driving while tired.

A challenge that law enforcement is facing regards the increased use of fentanyl.

“It’s cheaper and it’s stronger,” Piocos said of fentanyl compared to other drugs. “Because it’s not uniform, doses don’t necessarily match so there are overdoses.”

He noted that almost 80 percent of the cases that he handles are drug-related.

“It wasn’t on the radar two years ago, and now it’s our number two drug,” Piocos said of fentanyl.

A goal of his is getting a full staff in the county attorney’s office. The deputy position has been previously advertised, but there wasn’t a good candidate found.

“It’s one of the highest paid deputy positions, but there’s a lot of job opportunities in the public defender’s office and other places,” Piocos said.

He explained his job is pretty much divided between district court cases, justice court cases and civil issues.

“It can change drastically,” Piocos said of his case balance.