Art by Nigel Dobbyn.
Krouch Jr. is the son of Boss Krouch, the mayor of Backwater, Great Mobian Prairie. Having an influential father has its perks, as young Krouch has been the deputy sheriff for some time. As deputy, Krouch has full authority to fulfill the law in the absence of the town's sheriff.
Deputy Krouch was called into action during the Apterix rustling of 1996. Rooster, head of one of the area's Apterix breeding teams, was the subject to an assassination attempt by Chito, although the blame was passed onto Knuckles the Echidna, merely an innocent bystander. Knuckles was dragged to the sheriff's office in Backwater, placed instated the prison's one-month old cell from Metropolis City. The laid-back lizard questioned Rooster, with Chito convincing him that Knuckles was the "varmint". Despite having no proof, the young Krouch agreed to wait until the sheriff returned home, despite his father's insistence that Knuckles looked like the real thing.
That night, Boss Krouch organised a lynch mob to take Knuckles from the prison and execute the echidna. Deputy Krouch watched on, insisting that the townspeople make their own laws in this area. Fortunately, Knuckles was rescued by the timely arrival of the sheriff, who proceeded to sack Krouch the next day. The ex-deputy threatened to tell his father, but the sheriff merely said that's all he was good for, now a disgrace for letting the lynching happen. With Knuckles given the deputy badge, Krouch Jr. wasn't seen again during the rest of the adventure, presumably lying low while Boss Krouch attempted to kill Rooster.