Kleberg Kenedy County District Attorney John Hubert administers the oath of office to newly-appointed Assistant District Attorney Omar Collin, Feb. 1. He is the new assistant DA. (Photo by Jennifer Whittington Silva) Kingsville native Omar Collin has been hired as an assistant district attorney, John Hubert, Kleberg Kenedy County District Attorney, said.

The new assistant DA began his new duties after Hubert swore him into office on Feb. 1.

He will be the third assistant district attorney working with his staff.

Hubert said a grant by Gov. Rick Perry allowed him to hire an additional prosecutor. The grants are allocated to counties that are on the border, contiguous to a border or have an immigration checkpoint, according to Hubert. He is a member of the Border Prosecutors Association who applied for this grant as a group. His office qualified for the two grant year because Kenedy County has a checkpoint.

“This allows us to expand our staff, address cases and give more time to cases,” Hubert said.

Collin will work with the other two assistant district attorneys who are Carlos Garcia and Ida Trevino.

“Mr. Collin’s skills will help expand the depth of our office,” said Hubert, “he is fluent in both spoken and written Spanish and holds an accounting degree in addition to his law degree.”

Collin said he had previously been working as a criminal defense attorney and now will have invaluable experience on the prosecution side.

“I am happy that Mr. Hubert has the confidence in me that I can contribute to this office with the skills I have obtained,” Collin said. “I feel fortunate working with experienced attorneys like Mr. Hubert, Carlos Garcia and Ida Trevino.

Collin, who left Kingsville in1996, said he was happy to return to his hometown because he can spend more time with family members and re-connect with people he knew while growing up.

His education includes receiving a BBA degree with a major in accounting from Texas A&M University Kingsville in 1995 and a Juris Doctor degree in 2006 from the University of North Dakota School of Law in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Collin graduated from H.M. King High School in 1988.

Prior to attending law school, Collin worked as an accountant in the HEB corporate offices in San Antonio.

For the past three years he was a sole practicing attorney, Collin Law Office, in San Antonio. He represented clients in both federal, state criminal matters and civil cases. He successfully represented Aquifer Guardians in Urban Areas in a high-profile civil case based on the Endangered Species Act.

Collin worked for the law offices of Phillip Bozza Jr. in San Antonio from 2004- 2007. He researched and prepared briefs and opinions for criminal and civil cases; prepared petitions, answers and other motions and assisted in several misdemeanor and felony trials.

He is a member of the State Bar of Texas. He holds memberships with the Federal Bar Western District of Texas; San Antonio Criminal Defense Lawyers Association; Federal Bar Association and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.