AUDIO: Howard County Prosecutor Discusses Staffing Issues

HOWARD COUNTY, Ind.-A “perfect storm” of unfortunate things is what Howard County Prosecutor Mark McCann said led to the release of two people from police custody in a murder case that dates back to 2006.

48-year-old Kevin Maddox was arrested in 2023 and charged with the 2006 murder of Chad Rouse, but had to be released because of staffing issues at the Howard County Prosecutor’s Office.

McCann said Thursday there was another jury trial that starts April 29 that had to take precedence for his shortened staff.

“I knew this was gonna happen, didn’t think it was going to be so soon. I’m pretty sure that it’s going to happen again unless we get additional resources in our office,” said McCann.

He said with the background information that he had, his office had to give the April 29th case priority over the Kyle Maddox case.

McCann said according to a study by the Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys, based on 2019 criminal filing data, his office needs 24 full-time deputy prosecutors to manage their caseload effectively. They only have 11.

“This is a burnout position when you are dealing with death and destruction every day and you’ve got low pay. There’s a formula there where a deputy prosecutor or staff member thinks ‘I just can’t handle this anymore especially for the amount of money I’m being paid,” said McCann.

Charges can be filed against Maddux and Amber Brigham. Brigham was also criminally charged in the case, but released from custody because of the staffing crisis.

“We’ll get through this and we’ll prosecute these cases. It’s going to take all of us to manage this, but we’ll get there,” said McCann.

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