KINGWOOD — After 20 years of service to Preston County, Prosecuting Attorney Melvin C. Snyder III is retiring.
Snyder said he has served five terms as Preston prosecutor and served as assistant prosecutor in 1993-94.
“I decided this would be a good time for me to go,” he said. “This is my fifth term. I’ve worked way too hard, too long. The murder cases and the serious violent crimes have taken a toll on me.”
Snyder is not the only member of his family to have served in this capacity. He continued a three-generation family tradition.
Both his grandfather and his father were Preston County prosecuting attorneys.
Snyder said his grandfather, Melvin Snyder, born in 1898, was drafted in 1916 and served in both World War I and II. After his discharge he served in the reserves.
Following the military, Snyder served as Preston prosecuting attorney from 1926 to 1937.
Snyder’s dad, Melvin C. Snyder Jr., served two terms, from 1980 to 1988. A West Point graduate, he served in the military, in both Korea and Vietnam.
He said his father received seven medals during his enlistment, including the Medal of Merit given for valor in combat.
“I got a call to speak during Veterans Day,” Snyder said. “I spoke about my father and grandfather. I was glad I could commend them. A lot of people didn’t know about their military service.”
The law wasn’t this Snyder’s first career either. He began as a design engineer at Exxon in Texas. While working for Exxon, he decided to go to law school. After law school, he worked as a patent attorney.
Once he and his wife moved back to Preston County, Snyder worked for the firm of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart in Pittsburgh as a patent attorney for two years. He also worked in private practice in Preston County.
He talked about his service as prosecuting attorney.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes since I took office in 2005,” Snyder said.
He said the felony rate has risen from 50-70 cases a year in 2012 to 160-180 felonies a year now.
During his career, Snyder said he has handled about 18 murder cases.
“Our case load tripled in the last five years,” he said. “I tried to hire additional assistants but the county doesn’t have the money.”
In comparison, Snyder said Marion County has between 100-130 felonies a year and has nine prosecutors, while Preston has only four.
Snyder said he is not going to give up practicing law. He is converting part of his parlor into an office. And there are other home chores that need to be addressed.
“I’m going to visit my kids,” Snyder said. “Our house was built in 1870 by the Brown Family. They sold it to my granddad in 1937. We’ve had it for 83 years. That’s longer than the Browns had it. I have a lot of fix-ups to do at the house.
“I’m pleased I have done this for this long,” he said about being a prosecuting attorney. “I’ve won 75% to 80% of my felony cases.”
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