Board of Supervisors Honors Group of San Diego Prosecutors for Excellence

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors honored seven prosecutors with proclamations recognizing their outstanding contributions to public safety through the successful prosecution of several high-profile criminal cases. The proclamations were announced at Tuesday morning’s board meeting.

“I’m very proud of the outstanding achievements of these Deputy District Attorneys,” District Attorney Dumanis said. “They truly represent the dedication and quality of our entire prosecutorial team throughout the office. Their exemplary work throughout complex and lengthy cases further demonstrates our commitment to justice and to keep our communities safer.”

The Deputy District Attorneys honored by the Board for their commitment to public safety include:

DDA Garrett Wong

During the infamous case of People v. Lopez, Maraglino, and Perez for the murder of Brittany Kilgore, DDA Wong had to deal with many complexities of a circumstantial evidence murder case where victim was murdered after the defendants tortured her for sadistic sexual purposes. DDA Wong was present at the crime scene in Riverside County and the autopsy, and he remained engaged with the case as it moved from investigation to trial. Wong’s mastery of the voluminous cell phone/GPS/cell site evidence and cross examination of the defense experts was essential to the successful prosecution of all three defendants. He also handled many other crucial elements including the testimony of the medical examiner which established the crime of torture through evidence of strangulation and other injuries to the victim’s body. All three defendants were convicted.

DDA Steven Schott

During the last year, DDA Schott has tried nine felony trials to verdict. He has tried multiple robbery cases, a residential burglary, and a high profile case, People v. Jones that involved the attempted murder of two San Diego Firefighters. Schott prosecuted the case under intense media scrutiny and the San Diego Fire Department expressed their gratitude for his preparedness and prosecution of the case. In addition to his regular Superior Court assignments, Schott also handles a large number of manslaughter and murder cases for the DUI Homicide team. He is frequently called out to the scene where his legal advice has proven to be a great asset to law enforcement.

DDA Gina Darvas

In the case People v. Young, DDA Gina Darvas faced lengthy investigative work before the case could be filed against a fake doctor who preyed on desperate cancer patients, charging them exorbitant fees for his bogus treatment. Once the case was issued, the defense attorney stalled through numerous continuances of the preliminary hearing that ultimately lasted nine days. Once the trial started over a year later, DDA Darvas worked nights and weekends for the duration of the trial which lasted nearly six weeks. Young was convicted of two counts of treating the sick without a license, but the jury hung on five of the counts, for which trial is set to commence in 2017.

DDA Shawn Tafreshi

DDA Tafreshi successfully prosecuted two cold case homicides. In People v. Burquez, Celaya, and Matthews, three defendants were convicted for the killing of 14-year-old Richy Carrillo. Tafreshi reviewed thousands of Facebook pages from City Heights Junior gangsters to develop a network of juvenile informants that provided valuable information. He also expertly used cell tower records, phone records, computer records, jail calls, and more. After a five week trial prosecution the defendants were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. In the case of People v. Ortega, Tafreshi accomplished he conviction of the defendants for murdering Jesus Enriquez and attempting to murder his sister, Isabel Enriquez. The case was six years old when Tafreshi began working on it and he had to handle many complex legal issues, including complex DNA testimony and even the defendant’s hit order on a gang detective. Ortega was ultimately sentenced to 87 years-to-life in prison.

DDA Susan Gust

The case of People v. Dikes is one of the worst the Family Protection unit has seen, where the defendant married a woman with two daughters he molested. After countless hours of investigation, DDA Gust found five previous victims of the defendant in Alabama, who wanted nothing to do with this case at first; however, through her persistence and excellent rapport with them, the Alabama victims came to San Diego to testify against the defendant. Throughout the prosecution there were many challenges, including the attempted suicide of the 13 year old victim, whom Gust spent hours with afterwards until she was able to take the stand and describe the horrific acts.  After a six week trial, the defendant was convicted of 22 counts of various acts of child molest.

DDAs Chris Lawson and James Simmons

In the case of People v. Simpson, et al. DDAs Lawson and Simmons had a colossal undertaking with 18 defendants, hundreds of witnesses and complex legal issues. Between January 2012 and April 2014, members of the “Hit Squad,” a subset of a street gang in Southeast San Diego, committed 17 gang shootings primarily against members of rival Crip sets in San Diego. Led by defendant Dionte Simpson, members of the Hit Squad conspired to kill their Crip rivals, posting their plans, taunting and intimidating witnesses via social media. Through the use of wiretaps, surreptitious recordings, jail calls, and the large quantity of social media postings by members of the gang, DDAs Lawson and Simmons were able to establish conspiracy to commit murder and the little used gang conspiracy making these defendants culpable of the crimes the boldly bragged about online. Three separate preliminary examinations were held, each lasting several weeks,   after which 15 of the 18 defendants admitted various offenses, including the conspiracy charges, attempted murder and assault with a firearm. The remaining defendants, including the gang’s shot caller, Dionte Simpson, went to trial. After nine weeks in trial, Dionte Simpson, Nicholas Hoskins and Victor Ware were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and gang conspiracy, each facing life in prison.