News

Defendants Charged with Running Illegal Dispensary Business

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced charges today against four defendants who were illegally selling and distributing products containing marijuana. Jose Delahoz, 55, and Valeria Rada, 42, have been charged with child endangerment, maintaining a place for marijuana to be sold, tax evasion, and possession of marijuana for sale. They were arraigned today […]

International Fraud Awareness Week

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan is encouraging the public to report suspected fraud this week during International Fraud Awareness Week. Insurance Fraud is the second-largest economic crime in the U.S. and costs California residents about $15 billion a year. To combat this problem, the District Attorney, in conjunction with the California Department of […]

Fatal DUIs Spike Amid COVID-19

Fatal DUI Numbers Remain High

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced today that her office is receiving an $810,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety for the tenth year in a row to prevent and prosecute impaired driving deaths and DUI-drug cases. The grant award comes as San Diego County fatal DUI numbers remain at an […]

DA Issues Warning After Elderly Woman is Scammed Out of $200,000

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan announced criminal charges today against a man for his role in a scam that targeted an elderly San Diego woman who was convinced to pay over $200,000 in cash to the thieves over several weeks. Zhi Gao, a 22-year- old resident of San Gabriel, CA, was arrested Thursday […]

DA Meets with Businesses in the County Aiming to Reduce Organized Retail Theft

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan today pledged a renewed focus on fighting organized retail theft in San Diego County and holding thieves accountable. The DA met with ULTA Beauty loss prevention management and toured their San Marcos location which was hit last year by a team of thieves running an organized retail theft […]

Meet Deputy DA Laura Palacios

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 through October 15, we are highlighting stories from DA employees and what inspired them to pursue a career in public service. Meet Deputy District Attorney Laura Palacios. Laura was born in South Lake Tahoe, California and grew up in Reno, Nevada, where she lived […]