Zappia defeats Cichowicz for St. Joseph County Probate Court Judge

Nov 08, 2024

SOUTH BEND — Republican Loris Zappia unseated Democratic incumbent Jason Cichowicz as St. Joseph County Probate Court Judge, according to unofficial voting totals Tuesday.

The final unofficial count had Zappia with 58,514 votes to Cichowicz's to 49,753 votes.

Zappia, who has previous experience with the Drug Treatment Court and Veterans Treatment Court through the St. Joseph County Adult Probation Department, said he would like to start a Juvenile Justice Court to work with families and to help juveniles who come in through the court, he told The Tribune at the Republican Party's watch party Nov. 5 at the Gillespie Conference Center.

Catch the results!2024 St Joseph County live vote totals Results

As probate judge, Cichowicz established the JJC's Bridge Link Program, which facilitates getting juveniles driver’s licenses, jobs, a bank account, and learning about finances and insurance, Cichowicz told The Tribune on Oct. 4. Additionally, inmates are given journals for “soul searching” and are given “pro-social activities,” he said.

“We don’t lock away kids and throw away the key,” he said in the Oct. 4 interview. “We do the best we can to work with them and give them resources. … We’re trying to acclimate kids into a better environment in life."

The Bridge Link Program was scrutinized by the St. Joseph County GOP and former city councilman Henry Davis Jr. after a JJC inmate, Cyjarron Odynski, was permitted to attend a South Bend Cubs baseball game with his probation officer under the supervision of the Bridge Link Program. He escaped Four Winds Field on July 26, and on July 30, 18-year-old Isaiah Walton-Davis was found shot on the city’s west side. Odynski was charged by the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s office in connection to the incident.

Cichowicz denied the program's connection to Davis' death.

“The young man was a non-violent kid,” Cichowicz said of Odynski. “He was doing well in the Bridge Link Program.”

As judge, Zappia said, he’s not sure at this point if he’ll carry on with the JJC’s Bridge Link Program.

“I know that there’s been some issues,” Zappia said.

In 2024, South Bend had eight juvenile — ages 17 and younger — shootings, according to 2024 Q3 police data. South Bend District 2 council woman Ophelia Gooden-Rodgers told The Tribune by email Nov. 4 that gun violence "is a growing problem with the younger people today."

When discussing strategies to lower juvenile gun violence in the city, South Bend Chief of Police Scott Ruszkowski said it's a collaborative effort between the city, police and the JJC.

“People tend to think of this as an ‘adult only strategy,’ which for the bulk of it, it is, but we’ve taken further steps to include our Juvenile Justice Center, some of the programs and strategies that they have within there,” Ruszkowski said at the Q3 Public Safety Meeting on Oct. 10.

“I’ll have to look into those,” Zappia said when asked about the juvenile shootings. “Each one of those cases is specific to themself, so I’ll have to wait and see what those are.”

Zappia said he won't tolerate violence.

“That type of violence with guns will not be tolerated and I’ll do whatever is necessary to make sure that we have safety in our county," he said.

To him, what's most important is looking out for children's best interest, he said, though adding that it doesn't mean he's going to be soft on crime.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to rehabilitate our juveniles that they don’t get institutionalized and they don’t go into our adult systems," Zappia said.

Zappia hopes to integrate his campaign slogan, "Integrity Matters," into how he'll manage the court.

“I think that we need the integrity of the judicial system to get trust back into our court system," he said, saying he intends to “follow the canons” of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, with integrity being one of them.

“The most important thing is instilling trust and confidence in our judicial system," Zappia said. "St. Joe County has a great judicial system. The judges here are wonderful, and I just hope that I can keep up with that tradition.”

Throughout his campaign, Zappia had talked about his father's death from alcoholism, about a controversial fight with his brother, Len Zappia, who worked under Cichowicz, and about a fatal car-bike accident when he was 18 where he hit a Holy Cross brother with his car.

When asked why he decided to share those aspects of his life publicly, Zappia said that when he decided to run for judge, he knew rumors might come out about his past.

"I had a feeling that it could have been difficult and I thought I’d just come clean with my entire life," he said. "I’m not embarrassed by anything that I have done. I have regrets. I feel that life happens and I think that’s what’s gonna make me a great judge. … You’ve got to have some ups and downs to understand other people’s issues."Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at [email protected].