news-record.com

WINSTON-SALEM — Forsyth County District Attorney Tom Keith announced today that he will retire on Nov. 30.

Keith was elected as district attorney in 1990 and has served continuously since then.

In a news release, Keith said he is retiring to pursue several law enforcement related and crime prevention projects that require more time than he can provide while performing his current job as district attorney.

Following Keith's re-election in 2005, he announced that he would not run again. He turned 65 in June.

"When I turned 65, I realized that there were still a number of projects I wanted to get off the ground over the next few years," Keith stated in the release. "I have been interested in doing more direct work in the community, but the time required to perform the duties of this office have limited my ability to do so."

Update (4:27 p.m.): Gov. Bev Perdue has appointed Jim O'Neil, an ADA in Keith's office, to fill the remainder of Keith's term. According to a news release from Perdue's office, O'Neil serves "as a legal advisor to law enforcement for first degree murder cases and was the first dedicated domestic violence prosecutor" in Forsyth County.

“Jim O’Neill has the respect and confidence of the public, law enforcement and attorneys in the Twenty-First District,” Perdue said. “The citizens of Forsyth County should have every confidence that justice will be administered fairly by District Attorney O’Neill."