Annual Report 2007 - San Diego County District Attorney

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The division’s consumer and environmental teams aggressively and successfully prosecuted criminals who are committing crimes that impact the quality of life of San Diego County residents. One example was the creation of the Tow Truck Task Force, which aggressively went after towing companies for illegally towing cars. Case examples of these teams’ work are described below. ID Thief Gets Six Years In Prison Defendant Eric Jon Cluchey was arrested at an upscale downtown hotel after he used a re-encoded stolen credit card during check-in. Police were called and found the defendant, three companions, a suitcase and a locked metal case. Inside the case, police found a credit cardmaking machine. In Cluchey’s wallet were various credit cards and other identification from a prior car theft and two commercial burglaries. Consumers Protected By Stiff Civil Judgment The Consumer team won another victory for citizens when they jointly filed a successful consumer protection lawsuit against Archstone-Smith, one of the largest owners of apartment buildings in the U.S. The lawsuit alleged that Archstone-Smith presented its tenants with water bills based in part on estimates rather than actual measurements in violation of state laws and the financial detriment of tenants statewide. Archstone-Smith agreed to settle the case and the court ordered the company to pay a total of $637,140 in penalties and costs. The court also ordered Archstone-Smith to pay restitution to tenants and former tenants of affected apartment complexes. AutoZone Ordered To Pay $1 Million Penalty Deputy District Attorneys Tricia Pummill and Karen Doty from the division’s environmental and consumer teams joined efforts to protect citizens and the environment. An investigation revealed that AutoZone stores violated laws requiring the safe storage and disposal of hazardous waste, including motor oil. In addition, AutoZone stores were found to be advertising one price, but charging customers more when items were scanned at checkout. In doing so, AutoZone violated unfair competition laws and engaged in untrue/ misleading advertising. The Economic Crimes Division filed a civil action which resulted in a $1.5 million settlement with AutoZone, Inc. and an injunction which called for substantial changes in their handling of hazardous material and waste products in the future. ■ 2007 Felony Conviction Rate Felony Cases Received 525 Felony Cases Issued 467 Felony Conviction Rate 93% Economic Crimes Division 2007 Staffing Attorneys 20 Investigators 54 Paralegals 14 Support Staff 23 Student Workers/Interns 2 Total 113 2007 Annual Report | 31
Family Protection Division The Family Protection Division promotes public safety by prosecuting crimes of murder, domestic violence, crimes against children, and elder abuse. The division strongly supports victims of crime and works closely with criminal justice agencies and community partners. The division was led by Chief Kimberlee Lagotta in 2007, along with Assistant Chief Tracy Prior. In 2007, there were 739 domestic violence felonies filed in San Diego County and 1,891 domestic violence misdemeanors filed. A total of 267 child abuse cases and 19 Internet crimes against children cases were prosecuted in the Family Protection Division. The Family Protection Division had an overall felony conviction rate of 95 percent. 32
Page 1 and 2: Office of the San Diego County Dist
Page 5 and 6: Table of Contents District Attorney
Page 7 and 8: Our Narcotics and Communications Di
Page 9 and 10: DA UNIVERSITY: THE FRESHMAN CLASS D
Page 11 and 12: CRYSTAL DARKNESS CAMPAIGN TAKES AIM
Page 13 and 14: WILDFIRES STRIKE SAN DIEGO COUNTY -
Page 15: District Attorney Divisions
Page 18 and 19: Central Operations The District Att
Page 20 and 21: Another case has charged Robert Car
Page 22 and 23: The Bureau’s Special Operations D
Page 24 and 25: San Diego Padres and San Diego Char
Page 26 and 27: In People v. Munizza, Deputy Distri
Page 28 and 29: • Rhonda Van Pelt is accused of k
Page 30 and 31: The division also consulted on case
Page 32 and 33: Media And Public Relations All inqu
Page 34 and 35: New Media The District Attorney’s
Page 38 and 39: Domestic Violence In 2007, the San
Page 40 and 41: Cases of note in the Family Protect
Page 42 and 43: Further, they work closely with loc
Page 44 and 45: The first phase of a new travel des
Page 46 and 47: Premium Fraud Task Force Premium fr
Page 48 and 49: Operation Wildfire 2007 Within hour
Page 50 and 51: Arson Arson cases are supervised an
Page 52 and 53: Truancy The San Diego County Distri
Page 54 and 55: Operation Dually Noted/Road Trip De
Page 56 and 57: In 2007, the number of defendants s
Page 58 and 59: The Victim Assistance Program offer
Page 60 and 61: During 2007, Division Chief Summer
Page 62 and 63: During 2007, the division had more
Page 64 and 65: One of the largest divisions in the
Page 66: Finally, the unit has a two-route c
Page 70 and 71: Organizational Chart DISTRICT ATTOR
Page 72 and 73: Fiscal Revenues & Expenditures Fisc
Page 74 and 75: Awards Chief Deputy District Attorn
Page 76 and 77: Credits Communications Director Edi

Annual Report 2007 - San Diego County District Attorney

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