Brad McCullouch likes to say he "came to the Delta for the crime."
But the new Greenwood-based assistant district attorney says the county is at a crossroads in fighting crime, and he hopes to help lead it the right way.
McCullouch, 30, took over the job in January. He comes to Greenwood from Clarksdale, where he prosecuted cases in Coahoma and Tunica counties - two areas he said are "overrun" with crime.
But in Leflore County, he said, "it's like the crime is trying to creep in to a major degree, but it hasn't grabbed hold yet."
He said the next five years or so will be important to the community's future.
Prosecutors such as he and District Attorney Joyce Chiles can put people on notice that criminals will be punished, he said.
"Joyce has done a really good job sending that message, and I hope to be able to do a good job sending that message," he said.
Major convictions for crimes such as shootings tend to serve as a deterrent, he said. But he added that the community also must get together to say that crime won't be tolerated.
"I think most people don't want their streets full of folks that are shooting at each other, regardless of whose fault it is," he said.
McCullouch grew up in Jackson. He earned a bachelor's degree from Mississippi College with a double major in history and political science and then earned a degree from that college's law school.
He already had a sense of legal work from his father, attorney John McCullouch, who is now president of BellSouth Mississippi.
John McCullouch served as a role model for hard work, having driven a cigarette truck before he went to law school, his son said.
After graduating from law school, Brad McCullouch joined the office of Attorney General Mike Moore in July 2001.
He had already served as an intern in that office in college, and he said he "just knew that I wanted to be in the public sector, because you can really help folks."
He stayed there 1-1/2 years as a special assistant to the attorney general assigned to the Department of Human Services. His main job was terminating parental rights for those found to have committed abuse and neglect.
"I felt a good sense of purpose and mission doing that kind of stuff," he said. "I felt like I really helped children and families."
Still, what he really wanted to do was try cases in front of juries.
"There's really nothing better than working hard preparing a case and getting a good outcome," he said.
And when he took a job as assistant district attorney in the 11th Circuit, prosecuting felonies in Coahoma and Tunica counties, he got his wish immediately.
That position required a lot of on-the-job training, he said.
"You don't have the luxury of doing a lot of sitting around and watching," he said. "You just kind of get thrown in there. They hand you a file and say, 'Go pick a jury.'"
He said he liked working in Clarksdale but began hearing good things about Joyce Chiles when she was running for Fourth Circuit district attorney.
He remembers a casual conversation with medical examiner Steve Hayne in which Hayne mentioned Chiles. Hayne said that "she really, if she gets elected, will probably be one of the best district attorneys in the state of Mississippi," McCullouch recalled.
McCullouch said Chiles' predecessor, Frank Carlton, also spoke highly of her. But Hayne's recommendation was the clincher.
"I said, 'I've got to come here and work for this lady,'" he said.
So he helped campaign for Chiles in Leflore County, and she won.
McCullouch said he has been impressed by Chiles' work ethic as well as her aggressiveness in court. Recalling her closing argument in a case they prosecuted together, he said, "Joyce got in there and blew me away."
McCullouch said he found a big workload waiting for him in Greenwood, but he expects that as part of being a prosecutor.
"My night life consists of riding around in a patrol car looking at crime scenes a lot of the time," he said.
But he takes a lot of those trips because he believes in thorough preparation with lots of double-checking.
The reason?
""I hate looking like a fool in court," he said. "I mean, I hate it. There's nothing worse than a jury looking like, 'These guys have no idea what to do.'"
McCullouch said he has made law officers nervous by asking so many questions and asking for their cell phone numbers, but he believes it serves a purpose.
"I always kind of got kidded when I was in Clarksdale from the officers," he said. "But they really appreciated it - because they don't like looking like idiots either."
He said he has been impressed with the law enforcement officers and criminal defense attorneys he has come across.
"They're good people, dedicated to their work," he said.
