San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that her office has filed petitions in San Diego Superior Court to lift all 20 civil gang injunctions in place in San Diego County, effectively removing the names of all 349 individuals from the injunction lists. [TWEET THIS]

A Superior Court judge in downtown San Diego has signed orders dissolving four injunctions. One petition has been filed in South Bay and is awaiting judicial approval. In Vista, a judge has signed orders dissolving three injunctions. Twelve more are awaiting a judge’s signature.

Two injunctions were dissolved in San Diego after petitions were filed by the San Diego City Attorney. The District Attorney will send letters informing people their name had been purged from the lists.

“In listening to the communities we serve, I heard concern for the violence and harm that criminal organized gangs cause, but also that families are looking for more opportunities for healthy reentry for those who have turned their lives around,” DA Stephan said. “In our county, civil gang injunctions were put in place 10 to 20 years ago and for the most part had become stale, and in many cases, continue to cause hardships for people who have moved on and are trying to get a job or connect with relatives. We’ve worked closely with our law enforcement partners to evaluate the injunctions and determined they are not effective in protecting the public from a primarily younger group of individuals who are committing gang-related crimes in our communities.”

The Police Chiefs and Sheriff from every city and region of the County that had one or more civil gang injunctions in place worked with the DA’s Office on evaluating the current impact of collateral consequences in comparison with public safety benefits and supported this action while remaining committed to fighting violence: Sheriff Bill Gore, San Diego Police Chief Dave Nisleit, Oceanside Police Chief Fred Armijo, National City Police Chief Jose Tellez and Escondido Police Chief Ed Varso.

The civil gang injunctions were filed several years ago by previous DA administrations in various cities across the county, often in response to communities seeing a spike in gang-related violence. The injunctions are court orders restricting the most active and dangerous gang members from congregating with other known gang members, fighting, carrying weapons, and intimidation. However, no gang injunctions have been filed by the District Attorney’s Office in the past eight years and the oldest existing injunction dates back to 1997.

The DA’s removal of gang injunctions, in cooperation with the San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott’s Office, is consistent with the Commission on Gang Prevention and Intervention’s recommendations and aligns with San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria’s recently released proposed police reform agenda.

“Gang injunctions are outdated, and do not serve their alleged purpose of protecting public safety. This is why I advocated to eliminate them as part of my police reform package,” Mayor Todd Gloria said. “I’m grateful for the work of the District Attorney and City Attorney to finally remove all civil gang injunctions. It is the right thing to do and gives hundreds of San Diegans an opportunity to live without the fear a stale accusation could hurt their chances for good paying jobs, education and housing.”

Two injunctions were dissolved in the City of San Diego on April 9.

“In 2019, my Office began working with the San Diego Police Department to remove from the City’s civil gang injunctions the names of individuals who no longer posed a public safety threat,” San Diego City Attorney Mara W. Elliott said. “I commend the District Attorney and Mayor for their commitment to dissolving these injunctions completely, and I’m proud to be a part of this effort.”

In March 2019, 332 people were removed from civil gang injunction lists following a careful review by the District Attorney’s Office, which worked to confirm individuals’ lack of recent criminal and gang activity. DA Stephan initiated the ongoing review, recognizing the dated nature of most of the injunctions and the potential problems that being on the list pose to those who are no longer affiliated with a gang or engaging in criminal activity.

In March 2020, another 33 people were removed from 11 injunctions and in December 2020, under revised criteria for removal 77 more names came off 19 injunctions. Nine individuals successfully petitioned for relief on their own.

Working with police departments across the County and the San Diego City Attorney’s Office, the DA determined that shutting down the gang injunctions completely did not pose a serious threat to public safety and took legal action to remove them.

When a civil gang injunction is issued against an individual, it remains in effect for a lifetime unless that person applies for removal and meets certain criteria. However, most people don’t know relief maybe available to them or how to go about requesting their name be removed. [TWEET THIS]

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan today appointed Chief Deputy District Attorney Dwain Woodley as her office’s new Assistant District Attorney, making him the first African American to hold the number two spot in the DA’s Office. Woodley takes over for ADA David Greenberg, who retired in March. [TWEET THIS]

“In every leadership position Dwain has held for the past 12 years in the DA’s Office, he has demonstrated exceptional judgment and outstanding management skills,” DA Stephan said. “Dwain treats everyone with dignity and respect, giving a voice to the entire team and to the People of San Diego County. His leadership focuses on both internal accountability and community-based partnerships. He has worked tirelessly to deliver fair and equal justice, support victims of crime, build trust with the public and develop direct access to our office for all the diverse communities we serve. I look forward to working with Assistant DA Dwain Woodley to continue to build a model prosecutor’s office that balances public safety and responsible criminal justice reform.”

Assistant DA Woodley helped develop and lead the DA’s Community Partnership Prosecutors program which has been especially successful connecting the public with much-needed services around domestic violence, child abuse and hate crimes during the COVID19 pandemic.

A former public defender, Woodley joined the DA’s Office as a Deputy DA in 2001. He began his management track in 2008 serving as Assistant Chief of Central Pretrial and Disposition Division, Assistant Chief of Superior Court Division, Chief of Superior Court Division, Chief of the Juvenile Branch, and Chief of the South Bay Branch. In 2018, the first appointment newly-elected DA Stephan made was elevating Woodley to Chief Deputy DA.

Woodley served honorably in the United States Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps from 1989-1995, where he was both a prosecutor and defense counsel. Dwain’s last assignment in the military was a staff attorney for Office of General Counsel at the National Security Agency (NSA). Dwain then served as a San Diego Deputy Public Defender before joining the District Attorney’s Office in 2001.

“Dwain has been instrumental in further developing our office as one that reflects the diversity of the community we serve by striving to recruit and retain the most talented, diverse and inclusive workforce in order to improve our pursuit of a fair and equal justice for all,” DA Stephan said.

Woodley grew up in Baltimore Maryland and graduated from McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College) and University of Maryland Law School and completed the Prosecutors for Now course at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

His appointment is effective immediately. [TWEET THIS]

A murderer sentenced to 196 years-to-life in prison, who was released under Prop 57 and Senate Bill 1391 just four months ago, was charged today with a violent robbery after he allegedly took cash from a stranger and stabbed him in the back, causing his lung to collapse.

Dejon Satterwhite, 31, was arraigned in Superior Court today and charged with robbery with allegations of causing great bodily injury and using a deadly weapon. A judge ordered the defendant to be held on $2 million bail. If convicted of all the charges he faces up to nine years in prison.

On March 11, prosecutors say Satterwhite asked a man for money and offered to share heroin and methamphetamine with the stranger. When the defendant saw that the victim had a roll of money tucked in his socks, the defendant snatched all of the victim’s money and started to flee. When the victim pursued Satterwhite, he stabbed the victim in the back,  puncturing the victim’s left lung. When police arrived, the victim was blacking out from blood-loss.

In court today, Deputy District Attorney Jack Yeh detailed Satterwhite’s criminal history and previous conviction. When Satterwhite was 15-years old, he and three fellow gang members committed two drive-by shootings and a third shooting on Highway 163. Two people died and three others were wounded in the shootings. As a result, Satterwhite was convicted in adult criminal court of two counts of special circumstance murder and three counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to 196 years-to-life in state prison.

While post-conviction hearings were taking place, Proposition 57 was passed in California, requiring transfer hearings for all defendants 14-years old and older to determine if they are inappropriate for juvenile court. Before this defendant could be brought to a transfer hearing, the legislature passed Senate Bill 1391, allowing transfer hearings only for those 16-years old and older. Since Satterwhite was 15-years old at the time he participated in the murders, he could not be transferred, and his convictions were changed into juvenile true-findings. As a result, he was released from custody in October of 2020.

Less than six months later, Satterwhite committed the alleged robbery.

“This defendant is an imminent danger to the community,” Deputy DA Yeh said in court. “He had proved this to be true when he participated in the 2004 murders and he demonstrated that he lacks the capacity to change when he allegedly robbed and stabbed a stranger, leaving him for dead.”

Approved by voters in 2016, Proposition 57 increased parole chances for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes and gave them more opportunities to earn credits for good behavior.

Satterwhite is due back in court on April 12 for a readiness hearing.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that two defendants have pleaded guilty connection with the A3 Charter School scheme that siphoned more than $50 million from the State of California. The defendants pleaded guilty in San Diego Superior Court to a variety of felony criminal charges including conspiracy and conflict of interest and are assisting in the return of over $210 million in assets. The defendants’ prison sentences are up to the court and range up to ten years in prison.[TWEET THIS]

Sean McManus, 48, and Jason Schrock, 44, who operated and controlled 19 California charter schools as well as four business entities, were indicted by a grand jury along with nine other defendants in May of 2019 on a several criminal counts.

Today, McManus pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to misappropriate public funds and to stealing more than $500,000. McManus faces up to 10 years in state prison. Schrock pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to misappropriate public funds, one felony count of conflict of interest, and also to stealing over $500,000. Schrock faces up to nine years in state prison. McManus, an Australian national, entered his guilty plea remotely from Australia via Microsoft Teams. In his plea agreement McManus agreed to return voluntarily to the United States.

“With these guilty pleas, the defendants now admit they engaged in a devious, systematic public corruption scheme on the backs of students, their parents and the public that diverted millions of taxpayer dollars into their own pockets,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said. “This is one of the largest fraud schemes targeting education dollars for K-12 students in the nation. Unraveling this complex scheme came as a result of over a year of persistent and dedicated work by our team of prosecutors and investigators, who specialized in public corruption. This expert DA team will continue their work on this pending case to seek justice and make victims whole through restitution.”

The timing of the exposure of the potential abuses in the online charter arena has saved the state additional hundreds of millions of dollars even before the pandemic, as the case made school districts and the state aware of oversight concerns.

Sentencing is set June 18 at 9:30 a.m. Three co-defendants, who worked under McManus and Schrock at various charter schools, have already pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy and have been cooperating with prosecutors under their plea agreements.

As part of the plea agreement the defendants have agreed to transfer significant assets that resulted from their scam, including over $210 million in cash, 13 houses, and various shares in third party companies. The plea agreement will result in many millions of dollars to be used to support education in San Diego County and across California.

“This plea allows for a speedy end to what otherwise could have tied up money belonging to the school system for years,” DA Stephan said. “A critical part of obtaining justice in this case is the ability to recover restitution, which can support students whose needs were was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recovering over $200 million in restitution is one of the largest amounts related to education-targeted fraud in the nation. This was an extremely complicated case and our team from our Special Operations Division continues to do an amazing job holding the defendants accountable and helping school districts change the way they do business.”

The case is the result of a 235-page indictment, which was handed down by a grand jury in May of 2019 following a year-long investigation by members of the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office’s Public Corruption Team, including DA Investigators David Iorillo, Don Holmes and Vincent Giaime, as well as Deputy DA Leon Schorr, who heads the public corruption unit and Deputy DA Kevin Fannan. The grand jury spent six weeks hearing testimony from more than 70 witnesses including employees of the charter schools, parents, athletic coaches, various school district representatives, and county and state-level regulatory employees.

The investigation uncovered a massive scheme in which McManus and Schrock directed subordinates and co-defendants to open 19 charter schools in San Diego County and across California. These are collectively called “A3 Charter Schools” and include:

• Valiant Academy San Diego
• Valiant Academy Los Angeles
• Valiant Academy Santa Barbara
• CA STEAM San Bernardino
• CA STEAM Sonoma
• CA STEAM Sonoma II
• CA STEAM Santa Barbara
• Uplift California Monterey
• Uplift California North
• Uplift California South
• Uplift California Santa Barbara
• California Academy of Sports Science
• California Academy of Sports Science Fresno
• California Vanguard Fresno
• University Prep
• University Prep Fresno
• University Prep San Bernardino
• California Prep Sutter K-7
• California Prep Sutter 8-12

McManus and Schrock knowingly collected public funds from students for “summer school” even though the students were part of pre-existing youth programs such as sports teams, camps, gyms, private schools both religious and secular, and private enrichment centers.  McManus and Schrock authorized small payments to these programs for student information (as low as $25 for each student’s identifying information). McManus and Schrock then defrauded the state of California by claiming these students were being served by the A3 Charter Schools and being taught public education from licensed teachers, when the children often had absolutely no relationship with McManus’ and Schrock’s operation.

McManus and Schrock knowingly manipulated state funding procedures to inflate the amount of money the State of California paid the A3 Charter Schools for each summer school student.  They backdated documentation and manipulated school calendars to falsely demonstrate that children were engaged in educational activities for the entire summer. The defendants switched students between different A3 Charter Schools, called “sister schools” to increase funding per student/per school beyond legal limits. They also knowingly manipulated invoices paid to themselves through private companies in order for the A3 Charter Schools to defraud the state of California into believing the A3 Charter Schools complied with their Funding Determination approved by the California State Board of Education granting them full funding.  The A3 Charter Schools earned as much as $4,000 for each summer school child when the child received relatively nothing in exchange.

McManus and Schrock knowingly evaded oversight by manipulating financial and programmatic information given to auditors. They also avoided oversight by using subordinate figureheads to apply for charter schools and represent themselves to government regulators as the CEO of the schools when McManus and Schrock controlled all decision making and finances.

Once the A3 Charter Schools had public funds from the state, McManus and Schrock transferred millions of dollars to private companies they owned and controlled under the guise of providing educational services to the A3 Charter Schools that were not provided.

This massive fraud case has exposed numerous discrepancies in the way funding is determined for public schools across the state of California, as well as the lack of oversight of schools.  These charter schools significantly adjusted their calendars to receive greater “per student” funding than traditional schools. They transferred students frequently, often without the consent of the student, to achieve more Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funding.

As part of the grand jury indictment, school districts like Dehesa were accused of not providing proper oversight, which allowed the charter schools to exist. Part of the landmark impact of this case is that school districts made change to avert fraud in the future through oversight and accountability. After this case came to light, the Dehesa Elementary School District made drastic changes to the way it operates and is becoming a leader on proper charter school oversight.

The District Attorney’s Office worked with the Court to appoint a receiver to manage the A3 Charter Schools and assets controlled by the defendants to preserve them for restitution. The receiver had the difficult task of assessing the viability of the schools and handling sensitive student files and ultimately decided to close the schools in June 2019. The receiver with assistance of the District Attorney’s office also sued six school districts involved in this case from across the state to require them to follow the law and return funds for not providing proper oversight. [TWEET THIS]