**Gregg County District Attorney John Moore Seeks Second Term to Tackle Criminal Case Backlog**
Gregg County District Attorney John Moore is running for a second term, aiming to reduce a years-long backlog of criminal cases and enhance the safety of county residents.
During a campaign kickoff event Tuesday at the Longview Museum of Fine Arts, Moore emphasized that he has “unfinished business” in his role. He will appear on the ballot in the March GOP primary.
“We started something, a cleanup effort in 2023, and we haven’t gotten there yet,” Moore said. “We still need to clean up and set the county back to where it was before.”
Moore is referring to a significant backlog of criminal cases awaiting adjudication. Recently, his office prosecuted Angelita Ruiz, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison for murdering her longtime boyfriend in April 2020. According to Moore, murder cases ideally should be tried within two to three years.
“There are still some five-, six-, seven-year-old cases out there that we want to get rid of,” he added.
Moore began his first term as Gregg County’s top prosecutor in 2023, running unopposed for the office. His extensive career in law enforcement spans decades. From 1987 to 1997, he served as a Dallas police officer before pursuing law, motivated by a desire to move away from dangerous street duty.
He attended Texas A&M University School of Law and initially worked for the Dallas district attorney’s office for two years. Later, Moore joined the Gregg County DA’s office and eventually practiced as a criminal defense attorney in private practice.
“I ran for the DA post because things needed to be corrected,” Moore said. “At the time, the office wasn’t operating like it should have, like it used to operate. So, I chose to try to get back to the way it was.”
When deciding whom to prosecute, Moore and his team follow a clear philosophy: “You prosecute people because they need to be prosecuted. You do it because it’s the right thing to do and not just because you can do it.”
Moore highlighted the strong relationships he has built with local law enforcement and community members. “We’ve done our best to help all the citizens of Gregg County,” he said. “The team that we put together here in the DA’s office has done a fantastic job in bringing the community back involved in the DA’s office.”
He added, “We’ve got a team-building effort so that everybody in the county is working toward the one goal, and that’s the protection of Gregg County citizens.”
Filing for county-level elected offices will take place from November 8 through December 8.
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*Stay tuned for more updates on Gregg County elections and local government news.*
https://news-journal.com/2025/10/29/gregg-county-district-attorney-to-seek-second-term-says-hell-keep-protecting-residents/
