Allen County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Destiny Caldwell, left, is sworn in as interim county prosecutor at a ceremony Friday at the Allen County Commissioners Office. The oath was administered by Common Pleas Court Judge Terri Kohlrieser, right, with Caldwell’s husband, George, holding the Bible.
Craig Kelly | The Lima News
LIMA — It was a changing of the guard in the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office Friday, with longtime prosecutor Juergen Waldick sworn in as the newest judge in the state’s Third District Court of Appeals and assistant chief prosecutor Destiny Caldwell sworn in as Waldick’s interim replacement.
This is the first transition the prosecutor’s office has seen in many years, as Waldick was first elected prosecutor in 2004. After being sworn in Friday at the Allen County Commissioners Office, Caldwell praised Waldick, saying she learned a great deal from him.
“Juergen is a great mentor,” she said. “Juergen is a great trial attorney. I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience working next to him for all of these years, and I plan to take all of that into the future with me. Additionally, I was able to work with many other prosecutors in the office who have moved on to different positions. I have gained great experience and knowledge and hope to model myself after those individuals.”
Caldwell has practiced law since 2008, serving as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Lima Municipal Court as well as in Hardin County before coming to the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office in 2014.
“When I initially came to the prosecutor’s office, I just handled general adult felony stuff,” she said. “In 2015 I was assigned as the prosecutor with the West Central Ohio Crime Task Force, and I was the prosecutor with the drug unit for years.”
Caldwell said she looks forward to continuing to speak for the victims in the courtroom. For her, making the case as a prosecutor to put criminal offenders behind bars is exactly where she wants to be.
“I was actually the magistrate for a very brief period of time in 2021 for [Allen County Common Pleas] Judge [Terri] Kohlrieser and Judge [Jeffrey] Reed,” she said. “It was at that point that I realized that my true calling and where my heart was is in the prosecutor’s office. So I came back as the chief assistant.”
With Waldick elected to the prosecutor’s office as a Republican, the Allen County Republican Party central committee has the authority under Ohio law to appoint Waldick’s replacement. Party Chairman Keith Cheney said the committee will meet Thursday to confirm Caldwell as the county prosecutor. According to Cheney, the party is not considering other potential candidates as Caldwell already has the knowledge and experience necessary to take on this new role.
“The committee will meet to make this interim appointment official because of the delicacies and intricacies of that office,” he said. “She has served as assistant chief prosecutor, and therefore, that will suffice to the committee that she will become prosecutor.”
Reach Craig Kelly at 567-242-0391 or on Twitter @cmkelly419.
