Walter Forgie currently serves as the Chief Assistant State Attorney.  In that position, Walter oversees the operations of the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.  Walter was born and raised in Florida and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University in 1996 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida College of Law in 1999.

Walter began his career with the Lake County State Attorney’s office in 2002 and has prosecuted all types of criminal cases, including misdemeanors, sex crimes, violent felonies and homicides.  Walter was promoted to Division Supervisor of the Lake County Office in 2006, where he served until moving into the Chief Assistant State Attorney position in 2020.

Walter has been active with a variety of community organizations and is a graduate of the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute, Chair of the Lake County Public Safety Coordinating Council, past Chairman of the Florida Bar Grievance Committee, former President of the Lake County Bar Association, and a member of the West Central Florida Police Chief’s Association.

He and his wife, Julie, who is a teacher, live in Clermont and they have one daughter who is their pride and joy.

Rich Buxman is the Chief of Homicide Prosecution, assigned to oversee the prosecution of all homicide cases in the Fifth Judicial Circuit.

Born and raised in Florida, Rich graduated from Stetson University with a Bachelor of Arts degree and then attended the University of Florida law school, where he received his Juris Doctor in 1998.  He became a prosecutor for the Fifth Judicial Circuit in 1998 and, during his career, has prosecuted most types of misdemeanors, felonies, sexually violent predators, and homicides. A career prosecutor, he began his career assigned to Citrus County and became the supervisor of that office from 2003-2013.  He was then assigned to prosecute almost exclusively homicide cases, including death penalty cases, first in Lake County, then in Marion County, and now across the circuit.  Rich is also a graduate of the National District Attorney’s Association Career Prosecutor School in Charleston, South Carolina, and was the Chair of the Florida Bar’s Fifth Circuit Grievance Committee.

Cindy Harper became the Executive Director for the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office in January of 2025. She began her legal career with the State Attorney’s Office in 2012.

As Executive Director, Cindy oversees a budget of nearly 20 million dollars and is responsible for the overall fiscal management of the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office as well as human resources and facilities management for the office.

Born and raised in Florida, Cindy graduated from the University of Florida in 2005 with bachelor’s degrees in public relations and political science. In 2008, she received her master’s degree in public administration from the University of Central Florida and in 2012 she received her Juris Doctor from University of Florida Levin College of Law.

Prior to obtaining her Juris Doctor, Cindy had a career in public relations and community affairs, working for both non-profit and for-profit organizations. Cindy previously served as the President of The Junior League of Ocala. She has served on various boards associated with the First United Methodist Church of Ocala and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Public Education Foundation of Marion County.

Cindy lives in Ocala with her husband and two daughters.

As Victim Services Director, Racheal Franklin is responsible for making sure victims across the Fifth Judicial Circuit are afforded the rights provided to them by law through the Statutes and the Constitution, and that they are treated with dignity and respect throughout the process.

Racheal was born in Hernando County Florida, where she grew up and went to school, ultimately graduating cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Florida Metropolitan University in 1998. Upon joining the Office of the State Attorney, she served as the paralegal for the Sex Crimes Unit. She was later promoted to the position of victim/witness counselor. She has been assisting victims and witnesses in Marion County since 2000.

Over the years she has had extensive training in victim services, including the Attorney General’s Office Victim Services Practitioner Designation training.  In July of 2020 she became the Victim Services Director and oversees all Victim/Witness staff and the services offered to victims by the office.

Russell Suess is the Chief Investigator, overseeing investigative efforts across the Fifth Judicial Circuit.  He is a certified Firearms Instructor and administers the State Attorney’s Office Firearms training and Law Enforcement training for all Fifth Circuit Investigators.

Russell holds a bachelor’s degree in Business and Professional Management from Nova Southeastern University. In 1980 he began his career in law enforcement in Fort Lauderdale where he spent 17 years as an Investigator specializing in complex International Auto Theft investigations. He was assigned to a Multi-Agency Task Force under the direction of the FBI.  Russell traveled throughout the world as an expert in Harley Davidson Identification.  In 2002 he was promoted to Sargent and served the remainder of his time in the patrol division until retirement in 2009. He then moved to Hernando County and was hired by the State Attorney’s Office the same year.

Russ is married with 2 children and 2 stepchildren.  He is an avid Bass Fisherman and partakes in monthly fishing tournaments throughout the state.  He also enjoys the outdoors and spending quality time with his family traveling in their RV.