RALEIGH — Governor Roy Cooper has appointed R. Andrew Murray, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, as the acting District Attorney for Prosecutorial District 42, serving Henderson, Polk and Transylvania Counties. Murray replaces Gregory A. Newman, who was removed from office by Superior Court Judge Robert C. Ervin last week.

Appointed in November 2017, Murray oversaw prosecution of violent crimes and other complex corporate and political litigation for the Western District of North Carolina until February 2021. Prior to his tenure in the Western District, he served as the District Attorney of Mecklenburg County from 2011 until 2017. Murray also served as an Assistant District Attorney in Mecklenburg County after working as a Managing Partner at Goodman, Carr, Laughrun, Levine, Murray & Greene with a focus on criminal defense.

He earned his B.A. in Political Science and Government from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a J.D from the University of North Carolina School of Law. Murray enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1980 and resigned as a U.S. Coast Guard reservist after 35 years of service in 2016.