Historic prosecutor appointments enhance Southern District U.S. Attorney's Office

SAVANNAH, GA:  The first-ever dedicated prosecutor from Fort Stewart and a specialized animal cruelty prosecutor represent historic appointments bolstering the ranks of the Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Capt. Darron Hubbard, of Savannah, and Jessica Rock, of Jackson, Ga., have been sworn into office to serve the United States in the Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Hubbard will serve as a full-time Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) in the Savannah Office, while Rock will serve as an SAUSA dedicated to animal cruelty cases.

“Our office’s resounding prosecutorial success in leveraging outstanding U.S. Army JAG Corps attorneys to serve full-time assignments in the U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to reap benefits for our law enforcement efforts while providing valuable experience to military attorneys,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “In addition, a prosecutor specializing in animal cruelty cases adds tremendous firepower in our work to eradicate animal fighting operations in the Southern District and beyond.”

The new appointees are:

• Capt. Darron Hubbard, a six-year veteran of the U.S. Army, served as trial defense counsel for the Army in Kaiserslautern, Germany, before joining the JAG Corps at Fort Stewart. A summa cum laude graduate of DePaul University College of Law, Hubbard served in the Army as a criminal prosecutor and defense counsel, and as personal civil counsel for soldiers. He previously served as a SAUSA for the Western District of Oklahoma U.S. Attorney’s Office, and is the first full-time dedicated SAUSA appointed from Fort Stewart.
• Jessica Rock represents only the second time in the nation that a dedicated animal cruelty prosecutor has joined a U.S. Attorney’s Office. In 2019, she was appointed as Georgia’s Statewide Animal Crimes Prosecutor and Trainer and serves as an Assistant District Attorney with the Towaliga Judicial Circuit. Rock provides statewide animal cruelty and animal fighting case assistance for law enforcement and prosecutors, and statewide and national training to law enforcement, animal control officers, prosecutors, judges and veterinarians. In 2004, she became Georgia’s first dedicated animal cruelty prosecutor, creating Georgia's first animal cruelty task force with law enforcement. For more than 16 years, Jessica has dedicated her career to the prosecution of animal crimes and education on the closely connected link between animal abuse and human violence. Rock is a graduate of the Emory University School of Law and a former clerk for a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. She currently is assisting in the prosecution of two major cockfighting cases in the Southern District.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia, led by U.S. Attorney Bobby L. Christine, prosecutes cases involving violations of federal laws, and represents the interests of the United States government and its agencies in criminal and civil matters.in the 43 counties of the Southern District.