by Jonathan Weaver
Armstrong County’s first female district attorney could be elected this Fall.
Following current District Attorney Scott Andreassi’s campaign for Common Pleas Judge, Assistant District Attorney Katie (Foust) Charlton has announced that she will seek the office of Armstrong County District Attorney.
Katie Charlton is running to be Armstrong County’s first female district attorney in the May Primary Election (submitted photo)
An attorney for 10 years and an assistant district attorney for the past six, Charlton said the “terrible” drug abuse plaguing the region “was a deciding factor.”
“I’m raising my family in this county - I am very concerned about the heroin and opioid epidemic that has been affecting our communities, affecting the country. I really want to tackle that problem to the best of my ability,” Charlton said. “I have the energy and the drive to tackle that problem and do whatever it takes to get this resolved for my children and for everybody’s children, for the community.
“I think that the incoming district attorney is going to have a lot of work on their hands in tackling that problem, and I’m up to doing that.”
Hired by Andreassi in 2011, Charlton said she has noted Andreassi’s exemplary community outreach and in partnership with District Magisterial Judge Gary DeComo regarding the “Drugs Kill Dreams” prevention program. She added that those efforts will be “very important” while tackling the drug epidemic.
“I think that prevention and education are going to go a long way in resolving this problem, and I think that the seeds are already there to continue on that path,” Charlton said.
Charlton and Andreassi prosecuted the case of Armstrong County Jail escapee Robert Crissman in May 2016, securing convictions for both first and second degree murder and conducting an investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the jail escape.
After graduating magna cum laude from Duquesne University School of Law, Katie entered private practice and today is the managing partner at the Charlton & Charlton Law Firm - where she focuses her practice in the areas of civil litigation, small business representation, estate administration, and oil and gas negotiations.
As part of her campaign announcement, Charlton noted that she was recognized by Pennsylvania Super Lawyer magazine in 2012, 2015 and 2016. She was elected President of the W. Edward Sell Chapter of the American Inns of Court in 2016, and serves on the Duquesne Law Alumni Association Board of Governors.
Charlton was also granted admission to practice before both the Pennsylvania and United States Supreme Courts.
A Leechburg Area High graduate, Charlton has been an advisor for the Freeport Area High School Mock Trial Team since 2014 and advised St. Joseph High School’s Mock Trial team for six years before that.
Charlton lives in South Buffalo Township where she and her husband, Joe, are raising their two children on the family’s farm. Her daughter attends South Buffalo Elementary - where she also is part of the PTO.