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ISSUE NO. 8 / 2014
From the Office of District Attorney  
Nancy E. O'Malley, Alameda County 
October is Domestic Violence
Awareness Month

Attend the 12th Annual Day of Remembrance on Friday, October 24, 2014 at the County Administration Plaza to honor those who have lost their lives as a result of domestic violence. This event will be hosted by District Attorney O'Malley and the Alameda County Family Justice Center.

If you or anyone you know is a victim of domestic violence, contact the Alameda County Family Justice Center for immediate services. To learn more about domestic violence prevention, visit our website and review the domestic violence resource kit.
DA Sponsored Assembly Bills Officially Signed into Law by Gov. Jerry Brown
At the tail end of the legislative session, Governor Jerry Brown signed two groundbreaking bills into law, Assembly Bills 1517 and 1610. AB 1517 prevents the possibility of future backlogs. AB 1610 will affect the prosecution process of human trafficking cases. DA O'Malley's sponsorship of these bills as well as the coordinated efforts of the District Attorney's Legislative Director Michelle Thomas-Shaw lead to the success and signing of these laws.

AB1517 - This bill, authored by Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, and co-sponsored by DA O'Malley and the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), brings justice to victims of sexual assault by ensuring that DNA evidence collected during sexual assault examinations is tested in a timely manner.

Communities throughout the state and nation currently face a backlog of untested rape kits. Studies provide insight into the scope of the problem. Starting in June 2011, D.A. O'Malley partnered with every law enforcement agency in Alameda County to audit all law enforcement property rooms for untested rape kits. This research revealed more than 1,900 untested rape kits in Alameda County alone. 

The law enacted amends the Sexual Assault DNA Victims' Bill of Rights by setting forth timelines for law enforcement as well as crime labs to test rape kits. Law enforcement agencies should submit rape kits to crime labs within 20 days, and crime labs should process the DNA evidence and submit it to CODIS, the national database of DNA profiles, within 120 days.

AB1610 - This bill, authored by Assemblymember Rob Bonta and sponsored by DA O'Malley, provides for a conditional examination when a material witness is a victim of, or witness to, a felony prosecution involving human trafficking.

The preservation of testimony at an early stage of the prosecution process is often necessary to ensure a just adjudication of these cases. Trials are frequently delayed and a case may not go to trial for months or even years after it has been filed. Victims are often not residents of the county in which the offense take place, and are often trafficked by their exploiter from city to city and from state to state. In addition, victims may be subject to implied or actual threats from their exploiters as a means to coerce them into remaining with the exploiter or keeping them from testifying in court.

AB 1610 amends current law to include "a victim or witness to a felony prosecution involving human trafficking, commercial sex acts or forced labor or services" to the category of persons permitted to conditionally testify.
DA's Office Earns 1st Place in Bay Area - National Drug Take Back Day
From left to right: DA Inspectors Mallory Hathcox, Bob Davila, Mike Carter moving collection bins at the National Drug Take Back
On Saturday, September 27, 2014, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office participated in the United States Drug Enforcement Agency's (DEA) National Drug Take Back Day. DA Inspectors collected 793.2 pounds of unwanted and expired prescription drugs. Out of 34 Bay Area law enforcement agencies, the DA's Office came in first place! DA Inspectors have participated in six out of nine National Drug Take Back Days earning a total of over 2000 lbs. (1 ton) of prescription drugs in similar events.

Did you miss out on this year's National Drug Take Back Day and have unwanted prescription drugs to dispose of? Log on to The U.S. Drug and Food Administration's main website to see how you can safely dispose of unused or unwanted medications.
From left to right: DA Inspectors Jeff Israel, Tony Banks, Steve Brown, & Kendall Won await community members at the Hayward drop off site
Featured Verdicts
  • On September 9, 2014, a jury convicted Rasheed Strane of the second degree murder of Rebecca Viera and the attempted murder of her boyfriend, Joseph Johnson. On August 17, 2013, the 23-year-old defendant fired five times into a parked vehicle driven by Johnson and occupied by Viera and her 5-year-old son. The case was prosecuted by DDA Melissa Dooher with assistance from DA Inspector Gus Galindo.
  • On September 8, 2014, a jury convicted David Anderson of mayhem with use of a firearm, assault with a firearm and with great bodily injury, robbery with great bodily injury, and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. On November 9, 2012, the defendant robbed a 17-year-old girl in Oakland and repeatedly hit the victim's head into the store wall, ultimately causing a concussion. He then kicked the victim's 14-year-old relative in the head when she tried to intervene the attack. The defendant fled the scene after taking the robbery victim's cellphone. Five days later, the defendant shot his third-female victim in her right pinky while she was seated in her car located in the driveway of a residence in Oakland, and while she was in an altercation with the defendant's girlfriend. The case was prosecuted by DDA Gemma Daggs with assistance from Inspector Kendell Won.
  • On September 8, 2014, a jury convicted Lamour Smith of three counts of robbery and assault with a firearm. In October 2013, the defendant robbed three food delivery men after placing an order for food to be delivered to an address in Oakland. Each time, the defendant stole the victim's cellphone and wallet. OPD quickly investigated and located the defendant. The case was prosecuted by DDA Angela Steffes with assistance from DA Inspector Jim Rullamas.
For a full description of all felony and misdemeanor verdicts,  please visit
our website.
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