CRIMINAL PROSECUTION DIVISION
District Attorney Gerald C. Benito
Assistant District Attorney Robert J. Maloney
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The Shasta County District Attorney is the "Public Prosecutor" for State and Local crimes committed in Shasta County. This duty involves two significant tasks to be completed by the prosecutors employed by the District Attorney: 1) to review all requests from law enforcement agencies for a criminal complaint and determine whether to issue the criminal Complaint; and 2) to prosecute all cases for which a complaint has been issued.
DETERMINATION OF WHETHER TO ISSUE A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
All local law enforcement agencies (Anderson Police Department, Redding Police Department, Shasta County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol, California Department of Fish & Game, Department of Motor Vehicles, etc.), other Shasta County peace officers, and special task forces (District Attorney Bureau of Investigations investigators and Shasta Inter-Agency Narcotics Task Force (SINTF) agents) submit police reports and requests for the issuance of a criminal Complaint to the District Attorney Criminal Prosecution Division. Each report and request is reviewed for sufficient evidence to support the criminal charge(s) and the issuance of a criminal complaint. The evidence is reviewed to determine if it is sufficient to prove the charge to a jury "beyond a reasonable doubt."
Following a review of the police reports, the District Attorney's Office may take one of several actions. The District Attorney may: 1) file the charges in a criminal complaint; 2) not issue the criminal complaint, but send the case back to the law enforcement agency with a request for additional investigation; 3) reject or decline the case for a number of reasons. Each request for complaint must be reviewed in a timely manner. This is a difficult task given the number of requests for complaints filed with the District Attorney's Office. It is not unusual for the District Attorney' Office to receive over 1,000 requests for complaints in a month.
Decision To Deny The Request For Issuance Of A Criminal Complaint
If the request for complaint is denied, no additional work is done on the case by the District Attorney's Office unless a law enforcement officer submits another request with additional evidence. If the suspect was jailed pending the issuance of a complaint, he or she will be released from custody.
Decision Not To Issue Pending Further Investigation
When further investigation is requested, the deputy district attorney provides the law enforcement officer with a request for specific additional investigation that is needed before a criminal complaint can be issued. It then becomes the responsibility of the requesting officer to complete the additional investigation and provide the information to the District Attorney's Office before a criminal complaint will be issued.
Decision to Issue A Criminal Complaint
Once the decision to file a complaint has been made, the task of successfully and fairly prosecuting the case begins. There are currently 23 prosecutors employed in the Criminal Division of the Shasta County District Attorney's Office. Each prosecutor works on behalf of the people of the State of California to see that individuals who commit crimes are convicted and punished so that justice is accomplished. Once a criminal case is filed the matter may be resolved by a negotiated disposition, at which a defendant would admit the truth of the charges, or by a trial before a judge or a jury. Resolution can occur within days of filing a complaint or years. Many cases can also be extremely complex, requiring significant law expertise and a significant amount of legal paperwork and procedures to successfully complete the prosecution.
As is the trend in the general legal field, the District Attorney's Office has areas of specialization to help better prosecute cases of significance. Consequently, the District Attorney's Office assigns specific prosecutors to specialize in and handle cases in a particular area of law. Furthermore, many of these prosecutors are grouped in units or teams to help maximize the efficient operation of the office. The following paragraphs provide an overview of the organization of the attorneys in the Criminal Prosecution Division.
ORGANIZATION OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS
SERIOUS OFFENDER UNIT
Members of this unit prosecute the most serious crimes in Shasta County, including all homicides. These attorneys are generally the most experienced and skilled attorneys in the office. One member of this unit is designated as the "felony filing deputy" and is responsible for reviewing all requests from the local law enforcement agencies for the issuance of felony complaints, and for issuing all felony complaints in Shasta County.
FELONY HOME COURT TEAMS
Felony Home Court #1
This team prosecutes felony cases including insurance fraud, worker's
compensation fraud, child sexual assault, domestic violence, and other
assault and theft cases.One attorney is assigned the task of conducting most of the preliminary hearings that are scheduled in the home court.
Felony Home Court #2
This team prosecutes nearly all drug related offenses, welfare fraud,
and other assault and theft related offenses. One attorney
is assigned to work exclusively with and prosecute cases generated by
the Shasta Interagency Narcotics Task Force (SINTF). One prosecutor
is assigned to prosecute major drug dealers. One attorney is assigned the task of conducting most of the preliminary hearings that are scheduled in the home court.
Juvenile Court
One prosecutor is assigned to file and prosecute all misdemeanor and felony juvenile criminal cases that occur in Shasta County. These cases are prosecuted in Juvenile Court.
MISDEMEANOR TEAM
This team, consisting of three Deputy D.A.'s and one supervising Senior Deputy D.A., prosecutes all misdemeanor offenses in Shasta County. These cases include drunk driving, trespass, disturbing the peace, petty theft, minor domestic violence cases, etc. These attorneys handle about 7,000 cases a year.
SPECIALIZED PROSECUTION AREAS
The Criminal Division is also divided along specialized areas of criminal conduct which have been targeted, either locally or by the state, for enhanced attention. Some of these specialized areas of prosecution are primarily funded by grants from State and Federal agencies. In addition to the funding for prosecutor staff, funding for these specialized programs often includes funding for investigator staff and support staff. For additional information about the investigator activities see the Bureau Of Investigation page of this Web Site.
The term "Vertical Prosecution" is used to describe these specialized prosecution activities. Vertical Prosecution refers to a method in which a prosecutor is assigned to the case from the initial point of referral to the completion of the prosecution. This method results in continuity and improved prosecution success. The following specialized vertical prosecution areas are currently part of the operations of the office:
CHILD ABUSE VERTICAL PROSECUTION (CAVP)
Purpose: The prosecution of child molesters.
A prosecutor is assigned to prosecute child molest offenders. The State provides funding to assist the county in prosecution of these cases.
MAJOR NARCOTICS VENDOR PROSECUTION (MNVP)
Purpose: To prosecute individuals who are considered to be major dealers of illegal drugs.
These cases are vertically prosecuted by one deputy assigned to prosecute these defendants.
SINTF DEPUTY
Purpose: To prosecute narcotics cases investigated by the Shasta Interagency Narcotics Task Force, known as SINTF.
SINTF is a cooperative organization of peace officers from local law enforcement and the State of California Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement (BNE). These "agents" work to eradicate the illegal manufacture, sales, and possession of drugs in Shasta County. One prosecutor is assigned to SINTF.
CHILD ABDUCTION
Purpose: To assist in the recovery of children that have been abducted.
Both the State of California and Shasta County have emphasized the importance of locating and recovering children who have been abducted. Child Abduction cases often involve legal procedures to recover children from other states and even other countries. In order to assist in the timely recovery of abducted children, a prosecutor is assigned to assist child abduction investigators employed by the District Attorney in these cases. The state provides funding for this unit.
ELDER ABUSE VERTICAL PROSECUTION
Purpose: To vertically prosecute cases in which senior citizens are victims of crime.
One prosecutor is assigned to vertically prosecute these cases, targeting individuals who have physically or financially abused individuals aged 65 or over. Local law enforcement agencies have investigators assigned to work cases involving elder abuse.
CONSUMER PROTECTION
Purpose: To investigate and prosecute civilly or criminally businesses
that defraud the public consumer.
The protection of consumer rights is a relatively new function of the District Attorney. A prosecutor is assigned to prosecute these cases and is assisted by an investigator from the Bureau of Investigation. The Shasta County Consumer Protection Unit often works in coordination with other counties to the benefit of all counties involved. The goal of the unit is to obtain restitution for those consumers who have been defrauded.
WORKERS' COMPENSATION FRAUD AND AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE FRAUD
Purpose: To investigate and prosecute fraud in the worker's compensation (employer and employee) and auto insurance industry.
A prosecutor and investigators are assigned to investigate and prosecute cases involving individuals who illegally obtained worker's compensation benefits, employers who illegally paid insufficient worker's compensation premiums, and those who obtained automobile insurance settlement monies through fraudulent means. The cost to consumers from these two types of fraud is enormous. The state has targeted fraud in these areas and provides funding for prosecution of these types of fraud.
ADULT SEXUAL ASSAULT PROSECUTION
Purpose: To prosecute crimes of sexual assault or rape of adults.
One prosecutor is assigned to this specialized area which targets cases where individuals commit the crime of sexual assault. The cases are vertically prosecuted. Special focus is given to these cases because of the devastating effect and emotional impact on the victim.
SPOUSAL ABUSE PROSECUTION PROGRAM (SAPP)
Purpose: To vigorously prosecute domestic violence cases that occur within Shasta County.
A prosecutor is assigned to vertically prosecute domestic violence cases.
ANTI-TRUANCY (SARB)
Purpose: To get school aged children into the classroom by prosecuting the parents of young children and taking away the driving privilege of high school truants.
This effort involves a SARB (School Attendance Review Board) Specialist who is employed by the Shasta County Office of Education but housed at the District Attorney's Office. Parents who fail, after being given numerous chances, to have their children regularly in school are prosecuted for an infraction or misdemeanor offense. In addition, minors 14 and older who do not attend school regularly lose their driving privilege or are prevented from getting a driver's license. Funding assistance for this anti-truancy program is provided by the Shasta County Office of Education, local County SARBs, and the Shasta County Department of Social Services. The misdemeanor team prosecutes these cases.
WELFARE FRAUD
Purpose: To prosecute those individuals who fraudulently apply for or receive welfare or other public financial assistance.
An agreement between the Shasta County District Attorney and the Shasta County Department of Social Services, provides for a prosecutor to engage in an aggressive program of prosecution of welfare fraud in Shasta County. As public assistance programs involve complicated regulations and specialized issues, the assigned prosecutor handles and manages the prosecution of all welfare prosecution cases vertically. Several District Attorney Investigators are also part of the county wide efforts to prevent and reduce welfare fraud and to prosecute those who commit welfare fraud.
CAREER CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS
Purpose: To vigorously prosecute those criminals who commit serious or violent felonies and have a criminal history which includes at least one strike.
One prosecutor from the SOU, (Serious Offender Unit), is assigned to vertically prosecute these most dangerous criminals. Some State funding is provided for this effort.
IDENTITY THEFT
Purpose: To prosecute those who commit identity theft.
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the country. One prosecutor is assigned to handle these cases vertically because of their complexity.
ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES
Purpose: To prosecute crimes against the environment.
The District Attorney oversees two deputy district attorneys who prosecute environmental crimes in Shasta County. These attorneys are employed by the California District Attorney's Association, a nonprofit organization, but prosecute cases in Shasta County under the direction and authority of the Shasta County District Attorney. These two attorneys are also deputized as prosecutors in several other North State counties.
Back to the top.COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I contact the Deputy District Attorney who is handling my case?
The most effective form of communication with a deputy district attorney is a letter. To find out which deputy is handling the case you are interested in, call 245-6300 and identify the defendant name and/or case number. The individual taking your call should be able to provide the name of a deputy district attorney for you to contact. If your matter is pressing, again call 245-6300 and you will be connected with a deputy district attorney or you can leave a message. Attorneys are directed to return phone calls within 48 hours.
Do you have any tips for me so I can prepare for being a witness?
The section of this Web Site titled Overview of the Criminal Justice System contains information which can assist you in learning about the Criminal Justice System and contains some tips on testifying. The Deputy District Attorney handling your case is also a resource for you. The Victim Witness Program may also be of assistance and more information about the program is in the section of this Web Site titled Victim Witness Program.
CONTACTING THE CRIMINAL DIVISION
| Criminal Division | Telephone | Business Hours |
|
1355 West Street |
(530) 245-6300 |
Office - 8 am - 5 pm |
