US Attorney Opens Branch Office in Richland

(Richland, WA) -- The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington celebrated the opening of a new, fully-staffed branch at the Federal Building in Richland. At a press conference Friday, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Waldref told Newsradio "the number of cases prosecuted by the Richland Division of my office has risen significantly over the last two decades. As the number of cases continued to grow, it became clear that we need dedicated Assistant United States Attorneys who live and work in the Tri-Cities area."

The office will handle cases in Benton, Franklin and Walla Walla Counties. Local law enforcement who spoke at the ribbon cutting event Friday morning talked of how much more efficient the office will make things for them, in terms of travel time, ease of information sharing and more local collaboration.