◼ Arcata fatal stabbing case reassigned from Firpo to Gallegos - The Times-Standard
POSTED: 03/18/2014 12:57:34 PM PDT3 COMMENTS
UPDATED: 03/18/2014 01:09:57 PM PDT
Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos said today that he has reassigned the Douglas Anderson-Jordet fatal stabbing case from Deputy District Attorney Elan Firpo to himself.
Gallegos said his decision had “nothing to do” with Firpo's handling of the case or the quality of her work, but due to the case being used for other purposes by two of Firpo's fellow candidates in the upcoming district attorney election.
”It was my own inner sense of justice for everyone involved and my disappointment that some would use this case for political purposes instead of trying to seek justice,” Gallegos said.
Firpo said she had requested Gallegos to reassign her from the case for the same reason.
”To ensure this campaign is not conflated with a political campaign and that decisions are based on evidence and the rule of the law to ensure justice for both the victims and the defendants, I have asked that the case be reassigned,” Firpo wrote in a text message.
Anderson-Jordet, a 50-year old chef and Arcata resident, was killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 25 in Arcata after an altercation with three Arcata residents, which resulted in him being fatally stabbed once in the chest. In a plea agreement with the district attorney's office, Anderson-Jordet's killer -- 35-year-old Juan Joseph Ferrer -- pleaded no contest to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, for which he would serve a maximum four-year jail sentence and pay up to $10,000 in restitution fees to Anderson-Jordet's family.
District attorney candidates Arnie Klein and Allan Dollison have both issued press releases in the last month scrutinizing the plea deal and Firpo's handling of the case.
As Gallegos is not seeking reelection, he said he should be the one to carry out the rest of the case.
”I am responsible for all of the decisions in my office and the one person that is not making a decision based on political motivations one way or another,” Gallegos said. “I am used to the hue and cry of politics.”
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◼ Gallegos reassigns Firpo from Arcata fatal stabbing case; DA will not challenge killer's plea deal - Will Houston/The Times-Standard
POSTED: 03/19/2014 02:19:30 AM PDT0 COMMENTS
UPDATED: 03/19/2014 11:00:55 AM PDT
Gallegos reassigns Firpo from Arcata fatal stabbing case; DA will not challenge killer's plea deal
Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos said in an interview Tuesday that he has reassigned the Douglas Anderson-Jordet fatal stabbing case from Deputy District Attorney Elan Firpo to himself.
Gallegos said his decision had “nothing to do” with Firpo's handling of the case or the quality of her work, but said it was because the case is being used for other purposes by two of Firpo's fellow candidates in the upcoming district attorney election.
”It was my own inner sense of justice for everyone involved and my disappointment that some would use this case for political purposes instead of trying to seek justice,” Gallegos said.
Firpo said she had requested Gallegos to reassign her from the case for the same reason.
”To ensure this campaign is not conflated with a political campaign and that decisions are based on evidence and the rule of the law to ensure justice for both the victims and the defendants, I have asked that the case be reassigned,” Firpo wrote in a text message.
Anderson-Jordet, a 50-year old chef and Arcata resident, was killed in the early morning hours of last Nov. 25 in Arcata after an altercation with three Arcata residents, which resulted in him being fatally stabbed once in the chest. In a plea agreement with the district attorney's office, Anderson-Jordet's killer -- 35-year-old Juan Joseph Ferrer -- pleaded no contest to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, for which he would serve a maximum four-year jail sentence and pay up to $10,000 in restitution fees to Anderson-Jordet's family.
Donna Johnson, Anderson-Jordet's sister, said her family has sent several emails and letters to the district attorney's office asking them to vacate the plea deal and bring Ferrer to trial.
”We have tried to work with (Firpo) and Gallegos, and he was giving us the same answer,” Johnson said. “We were told that this plea deal was the best we can get against him.”
Anderson-Jordet's brother, Donald Anderson, said he and his family “aren't happy” about the plea deal, and said that “we didn't feel like everything has been heard.”
”There has been some discrepancies about what we heard when we wrote to them and what we're being told by the district attorney's office,” Anderson said. “We were told it was one way, and now it's another.”
Gallegos said he has corresponded with the family and understands their grief, but said that he will not challenge the plea deal as “the legal system does not aspire to accomplish the individual aspirations of victims or their families.”
”My heart goes out to them,” Gallegos said. “... But our job as prosecutors is to listen and exercise compassion without sentimentality.”
As a prosecutor, Gallegos said their decisions “cannot be based on the will of the individuals,” but must be supported by “evidence proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”
”We don't represent the victims, we represent the people of the state of California,” Gallegos said.
District attorney candidates Arnie Klein and Allan Dollison have both issued press releases in the last month scrutinizing the plea deal and Firpo's handling of the case.
As Gallegos is not seeking reelection, he said he should be the one to carry out the rest of the case.
”I am responsible for all of the decisions in my office and the one person that is not making a decision based on political motivations one way or another,” Gallegos said. “I am used to the hue and cry of politics.”
Will Houston can be reached at 707-441-0504 or whouston@times-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter.com/Will_S_Houston.
Showing posts with label Élan Firpo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Élan Firpo. Show all posts
3.16.2014
Meet your DA candidates: Elan Firpo
◼ Elan Firpo/My Word
y father and grandfather were career California Highway Patrolmen, my mother in police dispatch. Dad's career brought us to Garberville. I grew up in a law enforcement family with an unwavering respect for the law.
After graduating College of the Redwoods and Cal Poly, I became a high-tech design engineer. That led to a 13-year career designing computer components, then to supervising teams of 50 engineers and, eventually, to managing facilities with 3,000 employees around the globe. Rising to executive level in the private sector, my success demanded managing major operations, motivating employees and holding them accountable so that projects ran on time and under budget.
There is more to life than making good money. I heeded the call to public service instilled by my family's tradition, earned a law degree and returned to Humboldt in 2009 as a prosecutor: here, where my parents live and where I'm raising my children.
With proven executive experience and an engineer's obsession for solving problems, I will address the public safety issues of Humboldt County and manage the office of district attorney so that it works effectively and efficiently for you.
I will close the revolving door on those few who prey upon us, particularly repeat offenders that otherwise would have been imprisoned before realignment. As the only working deputy DA in this election, I have current working knowledge and experience navigating the new landscape created by the Governor's Plan that sent prisoners back to Humboldt and halved sentences.
While carrying a full case load at all times, I have also mentored summer interns, just as when I was an engineer. As district attorney, I'll establish prosecution protocols, which is management-speak for the way we prosecute ALL cases. By establishing clear guidelines for attorneys and support staff, we will prosecute as a team.
The DA must be a justice partner with other law enforcement agencies. All departments involved in public safety should coordinate our efforts to keep streets safe. My plan will bring together mental health programs, probation, social services, treatment facilities and the hard-working men and women in police organizations. By detailing one deputy DA to work with each agency, for example, we will be better able to distinguish criminals from addicts. Applying this approach to other types of cases, we bring about outcomes best suited for resolution of their impact in the community.
Marijuana grows that dry streams, damage the environment or attract violent criminals will be shut down. I advocate setting certifiable guidelines for legal 215 grows. In that way law enforcement will not come down on legal activities only to have cases thrown out in court, and growers can call on law enforcement when they're victimized.
I will optimize current resources and regain the confidence of the Board of Supervisors and the public by providing a quality work product in the form of consistent and rigorous prosecution. By putting in place proven management structures, ones that I'm very familiar with, we can improve our service to the county, attract more grant funding, and provide the supervisors with solid reasoning to support budget requests.
The broad coalition that supports this campaign is proof positive that the polarization of the DA's office will end under my watch. When the senior vice president of Green Diamond Resources and prominent environmental advocates agree on one candidate, that's a sign that we can truly rise above our differences. When two conservative Eureka City Council members and two former supervisors from the heavily Democratic Arcata's 3rd District stand together, we know that polarization can be surmounted. Humboldt constituencies who are worlds apart on passionate core issues set aside those differences to be in agreement that I exercise good judgment based solely on the facts and evidence. In a free, open society, it's essential that all sectors trust the structure and application of the law, under which we all thrive.
My candidacy refutes the wrong-headed notion that we must be combative in order to protect what we value most, or that bullying achieves results. Instead, in working together, my supporters find that all of us desire a clear impartial line in administering the law, that political persuasion curries no favor, and that I'm the candidate who has earned their trust to exercise the impartial judgment expected of the chief law enforcement officer of Humboldt County.
Yes, we can be one community working together for our common safety. I respectfully ask for your vote for district attorney to do just that.
y father and grandfather were career California Highway Patrolmen, my mother in police dispatch. Dad's career brought us to Garberville. I grew up in a law enforcement family with an unwavering respect for the law.
After graduating College of the Redwoods and Cal Poly, I became a high-tech design engineer. That led to a 13-year career designing computer components, then to supervising teams of 50 engineers and, eventually, to managing facilities with 3,000 employees around the globe. Rising to executive level in the private sector, my success demanded managing major operations, motivating employees and holding them accountable so that projects ran on time and under budget.
There is more to life than making good money. I heeded the call to public service instilled by my family's tradition, earned a law degree and returned to Humboldt in 2009 as a prosecutor: here, where my parents live and where I'm raising my children.
With proven executive experience and an engineer's obsession for solving problems, I will address the public safety issues of Humboldt County and manage the office of district attorney so that it works effectively and efficiently for you.
I will close the revolving door on those few who prey upon us, particularly repeat offenders that otherwise would have been imprisoned before realignment. As the only working deputy DA in this election, I have current working knowledge and experience navigating the new landscape created by the Governor's Plan that sent prisoners back to Humboldt and halved sentences.
While carrying a full case load at all times, I have also mentored summer interns, just as when I was an engineer. As district attorney, I'll establish prosecution protocols, which is management-speak for the way we prosecute ALL cases. By establishing clear guidelines for attorneys and support staff, we will prosecute as a team.
The DA must be a justice partner with other law enforcement agencies. All departments involved in public safety should coordinate our efforts to keep streets safe. My plan will bring together mental health programs, probation, social services, treatment facilities and the hard-working men and women in police organizations. By detailing one deputy DA to work with each agency, for example, we will be better able to distinguish criminals from addicts. Applying this approach to other types of cases, we bring about outcomes best suited for resolution of their impact in the community.
Marijuana grows that dry streams, damage the environment or attract violent criminals will be shut down. I advocate setting certifiable guidelines for legal 215 grows. In that way law enforcement will not come down on legal activities only to have cases thrown out in court, and growers can call on law enforcement when they're victimized.
I will optimize current resources and regain the confidence of the Board of Supervisors and the public by providing a quality work product in the form of consistent and rigorous prosecution. By putting in place proven management structures, ones that I'm very familiar with, we can improve our service to the county, attract more grant funding, and provide the supervisors with solid reasoning to support budget requests.
The broad coalition that supports this campaign is proof positive that the polarization of the DA's office will end under my watch. When the senior vice president of Green Diamond Resources and prominent environmental advocates agree on one candidate, that's a sign that we can truly rise above our differences. When two conservative Eureka City Council members and two former supervisors from the heavily Democratic Arcata's 3rd District stand together, we know that polarization can be surmounted. Humboldt constituencies who are worlds apart on passionate core issues set aside those differences to be in agreement that I exercise good judgment based solely on the facts and evidence. In a free, open society, it's essential that all sectors trust the structure and application of the law, under which we all thrive.
My candidacy refutes the wrong-headed notion that we must be combative in order to protect what we value most, or that bullying achieves results. Instead, in working together, my supporters find that all of us desire a clear impartial line in administering the law, that political persuasion curries no favor, and that I'm the candidate who has earned their trust to exercise the impartial judgment expected of the chief law enforcement officer of Humboldt County.
Yes, we can be one community working together for our common safety. I respectfully ask for your vote for district attorney to do just that.
