Five Deputy District Attorneys Honored for Prosecutorial Work

It took eight years to investigate and gather all the testimony for a high-profile case in which innocent bystanders were killed and injured in a hail of bullets between two rival gangs in southeast San Diego.

Deputy District Attorney Robert Hickey, who successfully convicted a gang member for the horrific act, was among five prosecutors from the District Attorney’s Office honored this week by the Board of Supervisors.

Supervisor Bill Horn presented proclamations to the five deputy district attorneys who were recognized for their work by the Deputy District Attorneys Association and are, “dedicated to the best ideals of public service.”

The five honored for their work were: Robert Hickey, Brock Arstill, Roy Lai, Katie Gayle and Christine Israel. Hickey was awarded Prosecutor of the Year and the others were awarded with Outstanding Achievement by the Deputy District Attorneys Association.

• Hickey distinguished himself by seeking justice for his victims despite a lack of physical evidence linking the shooter to the crime. Yet he pressed on and eventually persuaded other gang members to testify against the shooter for the murders of Carol Waites and Sharon Burton.
• Arstill was commended for winning murder convictions against two men in four separate trials for a 1994 cold case homicide. The trials stretched on for three years but despite faded memories and contradictory testimony, Arstill was steadfast and determined and proved his cases.
• Lai, who has been a prosecutor for less than 7 years, was recognized for his dedication and determination in winning convictions in 8 felony trials. In one of those trials, a murder defendant tried to claim he was insane when he stabbed a tourist to death in a parking lot. The jury ultimately found him guilty and sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole.
• Gayle fought to keep a man in prison for shaking his 2-month-old daughter to death in 1991. The father’s lawyers sought to overturn the conviction by claiming that new biomechanical research proved that humans did not have sufficient force to cause fatal brain injury. For six months, Gayle consulted experts and mastered the science of pediatric neurology and pathology to disprove their assertion. Not only did she keep this father in prison, but she also preserved 20 other shaken baby convictions across the country which might have been overturned.
• Israel was honored for prosecuting four men for six gang murders. She sought justice for an innocent bystander at a party, two robbery victims, a pregnant woman and her unborn child, a gang rival and a 14-year-old boy who was mistaken for a gang rival. Israel used her considerable courtroom skills to convince the jury to deliver just verdicts for the victims.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, who also attended the Board of Supervisors meeting, told the board that she was proud of her team and the dedication of these five deputy district attorneys showed that “we do not forget the victims.”