U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge Stepping Down

Conner Eldridge, the United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced his resignation Tuesday, according to a press release from the Justice Department.

Eldridge’s resignation is effective Aug. 21, and Kenneth Elser, his first assistant, will then serve as acting U.S. Attorney for the district.

“I am extremely proud of the work we have done to make communities throughout Arkansas safer places to live,” Eldridge said in the press release. “I am confident that work has made a difference. It has been a privilege to stand alongside law enforcement, prosecutors, and community leaders to confront crime and to work to make sure that we create an environment that gives all kids in our state a chance to succeed.”

Eldridge, a member of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 class in 2013, has served in the position since Dec. 21, 2010.         

During his tenure, Eldridge prioritized crimes that have an effect on children, including cases involving sexual abuse of children and child pornography, human trafficking, and violent crime, and he led the prosecution of numerous large-scale, violent drug trafficking organizations, violent crimes resulting in serious injury or death and crimes involving fraud with significant financial losses, according to the press release.

He also recently started the A-Chance (Arkansas Cultivating Health Attitudes and Nurturing Children to Excel) program, which addresses negative impacts on children exposed to trauma or violence and will begin fall semester in 13 schools in six counties.