Malayer ready to take over as Putnam County Prosecutor

Malayer, who has served as Chief Deputy Prosecutor, was recently appointed to Prosecutor after a caucus of the Republican Party precinct committee.

As a lifelong resident of Putnam County, Austin Malayer has seen changes come and go in the county, but one thing has remained consistent -- how safe the county has been.

Having been recently appointed as Putnam County Prosecutor, Malayer said it is now his top goal to continue to ensure Putnam County remains safe for all its residents. 

"It is my number one priority. As someone who has grown up here and knows a big portion of the people in this community and has two children, it is my top priority to make sure this stays a safe community. I think one of the major contributing factors to that is the community itself. The people who live here and the fact that we treat our neighbors neighborly, that we care for and look out for each other, and I don't see that changing. I love this community, take pride in this community and I feel everyone from this community feels the same way," Malayer told The Putnam County Post.

Malayer, who has served as Chief Deputy Prosecutor, was recently appointed to Prosecutor after a caucus of the Republican Party precinct committee. As a result, Malayer replaces Tim Bookwalter, who recently announced his resignation and will step away at the end of the year. Bookwalter served in the role for two decades, and Malayer said there is some pressure.

"Certainly, there's some pressure, and it's big shoes to fill, no doubt. He has been really good to me and he has taken the time to teach me how to do it the right way from traffic tickets to murders. He is one of the best trial lawyers I have ever been around and having several years around him, learning how to try cases has been phenomenal, how to charge cases and how to decide what to charge, as well as all the behind the scenes stuff, has been great. I feel well prepared for the role," he said. 

Malayer, who attended North Putnam High School and then DePauw University, got his law degree at Indiana University, before entering law. In 2018, he came to the Putnam County Prosecutor's office, serving as deputy prosecutor and then becoming chief deputy two years later. 

"It is really an honor for me. It is an important role and one that I take very seriously. I work alongside our local law enforcement to protect our community. When you've grown up in that community and know so many people in the community, it is like you are protecting your family. It means a little more to me, maybe than other people because I grew up here and have that connection. It is truly an honor for me," Malayer said. 

He said a class at DePauw University, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties , piqued his interest and he did a few internships with judges and lawyers locally.

"I got in a courtroom for the first time in my life and got bitten by the bug. I started going down that path and got advice from lawyers and went to law school. Once I got into private practice, it was pretty clear to me that my interest was really in criminal law and that's why I joined. I enjoyed learning how the system worked, but preferred being on the other side and the move to the prosecutor's office really worked out and I am grateful to Tim for that chance," Malayer said. 

Malayer inherits an office that, while it has a heavy caseload, is well prepared with staff to handle the rigors that come with staying a step ahead of crime. 

"Definitely a heavy caseload, but we are lucky in that we have two state paid deputy prosecutors because of the Putnamville Prison. We have a bigger staff than most counties our size and we have a good staff to handle our caseload," Malayer said. 

Drug related offenses are the top offenses in Putnam County, according to Malayer.

"That is our number problem, drug abuse, and that is my number one priority to deal with moving forward. I think there are two angles to that. You have to deal with the supply side and deal with the dealers because these drugs are coming from somewhere and from someone. I think we can do a better job of finding those people, arresting those people and cutting off the supply. I think the demand issue is the other side. You have individuals that have an addiction and that is causing them to do what they normally otherwise would not do, and you have to deal with that. First time low level meth offense is a Level 6 felony and you can't just lock that person up. That has a small timeframe in terms of how long they can be incarcerated. You can't just lock them up and throw away the key, but you have to deal with the issue. Tim and I came up with the Recovery Raw Diversion Program a few years ago to try to get these individuals dealing with an addiction the help they need to overcome an addiction so they are getting rid of that demand and no longer feeding that addiction. I think we can do a better job of attacking both sides of that issue," Malayer said. 

The Recovery Raw Diversion Program, which also features Recovery Raw Putnam County founder Eric Rippy, has been monumental in changing lives, according to Malayer. 

"Eric has been a great asset to our community. Tim and I saw that drugs are a big issue for our community and we looked at the community to see what options we had and what tools there are we can implement within our system to help these people. Eric was the obvious choice and we got together to brainstorm and this program was what we came up with. It is a way for Eric to get his program and what is working for a lot of people to get into the hands of people going through the criminal justice system. The carrot is they don't end up with a felony at the end of it. A lot of these individuals will go through the system, and, maybe, they get the help they need, maybe they won't, but they kick the addiction somewhat and we put them on probation and they do well, but they are a convicted felon for life. There are a lot of issues convicted felons face with housing, employment and it makes it really difficult when you are carrying around a felony. We have gotten great feedback from all the individuals who have gone through the program and have rolled through to his actual Recovery Raw program. It's gone well, and I am excited to see it in the future," Malayer said. 

While he has a job to do and looks to keep the county safe from crime, Malayer said he will bring compassion to the job.

"I think was a benefit to me doing criminal defense before I went to the prosecutor's office because I represented these people and you see the humanity. You see these are human beings. My job is to protect the community and these are members of our community who have made bad decisions, but there are reasons people make bad decisions and they aren't evil people who deserve to be locked up for the rest of their lives. You have to treat each person as an individual, and if I can help them get their life back on track and become a productive member of our community, that benefits our community," Malayer said.