On January 9, 2011, Darryl Hunter and his adult son Keith Butler were shot and killed after an altercation with a man at the corner of 30th and C Streets in the city of San Diego. Hunter was shot four times and Butler was shot in the back while fleeing the scene. The San Diego Police Department identified Marlon Johnson as the main suspect but he eluded the police and fled California before being interviewed.

In 2016, SDPD presented the case to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Cold Case Unit, and shortly afterwards Johnson was located in Arkansas, was arrested and extradited to San Diego. The case was handled by Deputy District Attorney Valerie Summers and District Attorney Investigator Sandra Oplinger. However, the complicated prosecution resulted in two mistrials with hung juries; it was not until the third trial in January 2019 when a jury found Johnson guilty of second-degree murder for Butler and Hunter and guilty of shooting at a vehicle.

On Thursday, the California District Attorney Investigators Association recognized DAI Oplinger as DA Investigator of the Year and DDA Summers as Prosecutor of the Year for their hard work and perseverance in delivering justice this case. The awards were presented during CDAIA’s annual convention which was held this week in San Diego. [TWEET THIS]

“Valerie Summers and Sandra Oplinger exemplify the incredible work of our Cold Case Unit, which takes on the tough mission of solving cases that have often hit a dead end,” said San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. “They both refused to give up and ultimately delivered justice for the victims’ family.”

Prior to the start of the first trial, DAI Oplinger identified another vehicle that had been part of the original crime scene and helped identify the position of the shooter at the time of the murders. There were more than 80 witnesses called to testify in all three trials, and DDA Summers met with all of them in preparation for the trial, some of which were initially hesitant to testify.

Each year, the California District Attorney Investigators’ Association presents the Joe McClure Investigator of the Year Award to an investigator to recognize outstanding achievement by a District Attorney Investigator as voted upon by the Association. In 2004, the CDAIA began recognizing California Prosecutors with the annual CDAIA Prosecutor of the Year Award to acknowledge the exemplary work by the nominee in the pursuit of justice and promoting and maintaining a positive working relationship with Investigators from their office for that year. [TWEET THIS]

Members of the public are welcome to attend the first-ever Economic Crimes Forum in East County hosted by seven chambers of commerce to learn how scams and cyber-crimes impact businesses and the community. At the event, experts from the District Attorney’s Office will teach attendees how to protect themselves and their businesses from becoming victims of fraud and other economic-related crimes.

“Crime prevention through partnership with the community we serve is an important part of our mission at the DA’s Office,” said District Attorney Summer Stephan. “We have an entire division dedicated to prosecuting economic crimes and holding the perpetrators accountable, but our prosecutors and investigators are also using their expertise to stop these crimes from happening in the first place and to protect the business community.”

The seven chambers of commerce hosting this event are the San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce, the East County Economic Development Council, the Spring Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Lakeside Chamber of Commerce, the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce, the Alpine Chamber of Commerce, and the Santee Chamber of Commerce.

The East County Economic Crimes Forum is open to the public and will be held on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Grossmont College Theatre Room 26-220, located at 8800 Grossmont College Drive, El Cajon, CA 92020. Anyone interested in attending should RSVP to Kathy Kassel: info@lakesidechamber.org or 619-561-1031.

An updated analysis of officer-involved shootings in San Diego County is revealing commonalities in many of the incidents, including the time and day of the week they occur, the impact of drug use, and the use of less-lethal force. [TWEET THIS]

The study shows that between 1993 and 2017, 451 people were involved in violent confrontations with police in San Diego County, which ended with them being shot or killed. Fifty-five percent of the shootings were fatal and 79 percent of the incidents included people who had drugs in their systems and/or mental health issues. Of the 65 percent with drugs in their system, methamphetamine topped the list. The most frequent time of day for a deadly encounter was the midnight hour of Friday. The most frequent encounters were traffic-related stops and domestic violence incidents. Read the report.

The 25-year, in-depth analysis is believed to be the most comprehensive report on officer shootings in San Diego history and among one of the few in the nation. The report was commissioned and prepared by the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office with the goal of transparency, a better understanding of the dynamics of officer-involved shootings, and to improve officer and community safety. The report adds five additional years to the previous 20-year study released in 2015.

Among the changes noted in the intervening five years were slight increases in the percentage of officers killed or injured in incidents, and the number of incidents where the subject’s statements or behavior indicated the incident was a “suicide by cop.”

Officer-involved shootings are among the most thoroughly reviewed incidents in law enforcement. The District Attorney’s Office has conducted reviews of all officer-involved shootings in the line of duty by San Diego County and state peace officers since the mid-1970s.

“Reviewing officer-involved shootings and deaths that occur while someone is in the custody of law enforcement is one of my most serious responsibilities,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said. “We are committed to leverage this valuable data to increase safety for the public and peace officers. In May, our office announced several initiatives we developed to improve the way law enforcement interacts with people with mental health and substance abuse issues. We’re funding access to crisis intervention and de-escalation training for police officers, and providing a mental health checklist that families can use when calling 911 to hopefully improve the outcome when their loved one comes into contact with police.”

Using data from each in-depth case investigation and data from police departments, a wide variety of factors were analyzed including the race and gender of the subjects shot, the month, time and day shootings occurred and the average age of the subject and of the officers shooting.

Findings include that the majority of shootings take place within five minutes of police arriving to the scene and that the most common location for an officer-involved shooting to take place is an alley or street as a result of a traffic stop or a domestic disturbance. In 92 percent of the incidents, the subject had a weapon. Thirty-eight percent of those subjects had a gun.

Domestic disturbance calls are the second most-likely type of police call to result in an officer-involved shooting with traffic stops accounting for the primary type of encounter.

When officer-involved shootings occur, the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer conducts an internal investigation which includes a review of whether or not that agency’s policies and procedures were followed or whether additional training needs to be addressed. A criminal investigation is also completed by the homicide unit.

The role of the District Attorney’s Office is to provide an independent review of all shootings and other use of deadly force, fatal and non-fatal, to determine if there is criminal liability. It is one of the most serious responsibilities of the District Attorney. This particular review does not examine compliance with the policies and procedures of the respective law enforcement agency, ways to improve training, or issues related to civil liability.

When the DA’s review is complete and if there is a determination that the use of deadly force was justified, a letter summarizing the evidence, including statements of the sheriff’s deputy or police officer and other witnesses, is written and delivered to the respective police chief or Sheriff. We release relevant body-worn camera video to the public and we post our letter on our public website.

The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office attend briefings by the investigating agencies following an incident. The FBI, U.S. Attorney or the Attorney General can also elect to investigate and review an officer-involved shooting. [TWEET THIS]

Every year there is an estimated 8,000 new victims of sex trafficking in San Diego County, making human trafficking the second-largest underground economy after drugs, generating over $810 million in revenue per year. To bring awareness to this worldwide issue, the United Nations’ designated July 30 “World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.” To commemorate this day, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office joined the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition and the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego during a “Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention” conference, where District Attorney Summer Stephan explained the impact of this crime in our region. [TWEET THIS]

“Human trafficking lies in the vulnerability of people” said District Attorney Stephan. “What is really important is for government to continue to enact laws that protect the vulnerable from this terrible form of exploitation and slavery. What is even more compelling than enacting laws is acting upon them in order to free those that have been subjugated to this terrible form of human rights violations. This day against trafficking of persons is not just a hopeful day, but it is a day of action.”

The “Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention” conference hopes to bring attention to the growing problem of trafficking occurring in San Diego County and across the country. San Diego was identified by the FBI as one of the top 13 high intensity child prostitution areas. Although San Diego does share a border with Mexico, human trafficking does not require that a victim be moved over state or international borders. Human trafficking is also a domestic issue inside the state of California and San Diego County.

This event hopes to highlight the importance of government action in fighting the trafficking of people and encourages everyone to become more involved in helping stop this crime. Other keynote speakers included Consul General of Mexico in San Diego Carlos Gonzalez-Gutierrez, Bettina Hausman from the United Nations Association-San Diego Chapter, and Marisa Ugarte from the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition.

District Attorney Summer Stephan is a national leader in combating sexual exploitation and human trafficking, having served as a Deputy District Attorney for 28 years and as the Chief of the Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking Division, a Special Victims Unit she pioneered. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office has taken the lead in fighting human trafficking around San Diego County and hopes to continue the fight through events like these.  For tips on how to watch out for warning signs of human trafficking and to learn more about what the DA’s Office is doing to prevent it, click here.

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More than 100 active duty Navy service members, most of them enlisted sailors, were targets of a scam by a company known as Go Navy Tax Services that sold over 4,700 expensive, unnecessary life insurance policies under the guise of tax preparation services. To pay the premiums on the policies, the defendants fraudulently gained entry to the Department of Defense’s payroll system and set up automatic payments to bank accounts that were opened without the knowledge or consent of the service members. The total loss to victims is about $4.8 million over 10 years. [TWEET THIS]

Paul Flanagan, 54, Ranjit Kalsi, 52, and Gregory Martin II, 49, were indicted by a grand jury in San Diego, California on 36 counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, grand theft, forgery and identity theft. The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office worked with the California Attorney General’s Office, California Department of Insurance and Naval Criminal Investigative Service to investigate and prosecute this case.

Defendants Martin and Kalsi were arrested were arrested July 9 and were arraigned July 10. Defendant Flanagan was arraigned today. All pleaded not guilty and will be in court again on July 17 at 1:30 p.m.

“The victims of this scam were young women and men serving our country who were essentially tricked into signing up for something they didn’t need and couldn’t afford,” said San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan. “Working with our law enforcement partners in California and at the Navy, we were able to shut down this operation and we will work to get money back into the pockets of service members who were taken advantage of.” [TWEET THIS]

A grand jury heard testimony from 40 witnesses over a 2-week period, ultimately handing down indictments on July 8. Investigators say the defendants easily scammed sailors because of their understanding of the inner-workings of myPay, the Department of Defense payroll system. The defendants would first hook victims with free tax preparation services, but then upsell them on life insurance policies described as savings accounts.

“Enlisted sailors were not given a choice as to whether they wanted a supplemental life insurance policy,” DA Stephan said. “That decision was made for them through corrupt and fraudulent methods.”

The defendants convinced service members to set up automatic payments in the form of “allotments” for what was characterized as a retirement investment and misrepresented the life insurance policy forms to convince service members to sign.

The Navy Region Southwest Office of the Inspector General Investigators, in concert with Special Agents from NCIS Southwest Field Office, spent countless hours bringing this case together. The efforts culminated in working hand-in-hand with the California Department of Insurance and Department of Justice.

“The Navy applauds the cooperative effort of this joint civilian-military investigation,” said Navy Region Southwest spokesman Brian O’Rourke. “Financial predators are sadly a reality for many military families, even in areas as traditionally supportive to the troops as San Diego. Service members who suspect they may be the victims of fraud are encouraged to contact their local military legal assistance office.”

Since defendant Flanagan operated his crooked business – Go Navy Tax Service – out of a trailer directly across from the entrance of the 32^nd Street Naval Station, complete with posted Navy flags, many service members assumed he was affiliated or sanctioned by the Navy.

“Service members have given so much to our country – they should not have to worry about being targeted and taken advantage of by malicious scammers,” said Attorney General Xavier Becerra. “We will not tolerate this predatory and criminal behavior. The California Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners will continue to vigorously prosecute scammers who prey on American heroes who fight for our country.”

While members of our armed forces were protecting our freedoms, Flanagan and his co-defendants were making millions off of their service. Flanagan was making $400,000 a year in commissions he would receive from the life insurance policies he sold.

“These defendants defrauded targeted an honored group of individuals who have dedicated their lives to protecting and serving our nation,” said Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. “The alleged actions of these individuals have resulted in the loss of $4.8 million and have harmed thousands of military personnel. I am committed to working with the San Diego District Attorney’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office to put a stop to those who take advantage of hard working Californians.”

If convicted, the defendants are facing more than 20 years in prison. [TWEET THIS]

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