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Larry Eichele of Davis, who has worked for the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office since 2002, says DA Jeff Reisig “is not in tune with the citizens of Yolo County.” Wayne Tilcock/Enterprise photo
WOODLAND — A Yolo County prosecutor is challenging his boss in the June 2018 race for district attorney, marking what will be the first contested election for that office in more than a decade.
Larry Eichele of Davis has worked for the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office since 2002. He said he wants to increase the efficiency of the office, citing a pattern of “overzealous” charging in criminal cases and unreasonable plea offers that send an inordinate number of cases to trial.
“Jeff is not in tune with the citizens of Yolo County,” said Eichele, 53.
While he admits facing an uphill battle in challenging an incumbent, “I believe that it’s the appropriate time in my career, that it’s the right thing to do. Society deserves better from the DA, internally and externally.”
District Attorney Jeff Reisig called the criticisms “off the mark” and said he stands by his record and accomplishments as he seeks his fourth term as the county’s chief prosecutor. Reisig was first elected in 2006 and ran unopposed in 2010 and 2014.
“My crime-charging policy follows the national prosecutorial standard. The facts of each case are thoroughly reviewed and we only charge those crimes which we believe we can prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt,” Reisig said, adding that when it comes to violent crimes, “we are admittedly tough, but fair.”
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Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig is seeking his fourth term next June. Courtesy photo
At least one other person is rumored to be considering a run for district attorney, a position that oversees 114 full-time staff — 35 of whom are attorneys — and a $19 million budget.
Born in Sacramento and raised in Truckee, Eichele had an earlier career as a contractor before he shifted his focus to the law. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Davis and his law degree from McGeorge School of the Law.
After a brief stint with a private law practice, Eichele interned for the district attorney’s offices in Sacramento and Yolo counties, and was hired full-time by the latter in early 2003. Since then he’s prosecuted a wide range of cases, from misdemeanors to homicides.
If elected, Eichele said he would strengthen his office’s charging unit, putting a veteran prosecutor at the helm to ensure that cases are appropriately charged. He also would encourage “more reasonable (plea) offers that protect society, but also keep an eye toward rehabilitating offenders.”
He cited a recent case in which he said Reisig rejected as too low a robbery-homicide defendant’s offer to serve a prison sentence of 25 years to life instead of facing life without parole. A jury ultimately acquitted the defendant, however, after determining he had acted in self-defense.
“It’s a lack of internal leadership when a case goes that badly,” Eichele said. “I want to raise the standards.”
He also vows to give citizens more input into community-based programs and align himself with voter sentiment on public-safety reform initiatives, noting that Reisig opposed ballot measures such as Prop. 47, which reduced certain nonviolent offenses from felonies to misdemeanors, and Prop. 57, which increased parole chances for nonviolent felons.
Eichele envisions reducing excess personnel within the office and allowing attorneys to exercise more discretion when it comes to determining the worth of their cases.
“Even though we’re told we have discretion, we really don’t,” a dichotomy that has resulted in low morale among prosecutors, Eichele said.
Eichele also noted his lack of political obligations, saying he would make decisions that are right for the county without being beholden to special-interest groups.
“I would re-examine every policy, every program and take input from every stakeholder — not just the political stakeholders,” Eichele said. “If I make mistakes, I’ll own them, instead of blaming somebody else.”
Reisig has been with the DA’s Office since 1997 and was the agency’s lead gang prosecutor when he first ran for district attorney, pledging to aggressively target violent criminals while also preventing crime through education and intervention.
“I’m still passionate about it,” said Reisig, 48. “I wake up every day and I think, how can I keep our community safe? I’m absolutely energized to do what I can.”
Reisig said he’s kept the promises he made more than a decade ago, supervising his office’s major violent cases and personally prosecuting those involving capital crimes, including the slayings of CHP Officer Andy Stevens and Yolo County Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Diaz.
Hate crimes and environmental protection cases also have received top priority, and offenses against women, children and the elderly “are an absolute priority for me. We file such cases with the full intent of going all the way to trial to obtain justice,” Reisig said.
Violent crime decreased by just over 20 percent in Yolo County last year, a result Reisig attributes to his office’s close working relationship with law enforcement, from whom he receives widespread support, and data-driven intervention techniques targeting repeat offenders.
But he also noted that the district attorney’s role has evolved, requiring a different approach when it comes to low-level crimes, or those in which mental illness or drug addiction are underlying factors.
Reisig said that’s why he’s championed both the Mental Health and Addiction Intervention courts and helped create programs like Neighborhood Court, a restorative justice-based prosecution alternative in which 300-plus community volunteers have worked with offenders to resolve more than 1,200 cases outside the courtroom.
The DA’s Multicultural Community Council also has helped bridge the gap between his office and the county’s underserved populations, Reisig said.
If given a fourth term, Reisig said he plans to launch a community prosecutor program that places a deputy district attorney in each city — starting with West Sacramento — to tackle issues such as quality-of-life crimes, homelessness and consumer protection.
Despite his Prop. 47 opposition, Reisig said his office has taken a key role in a collaborative program that seeks to reduce recidivism through mental health and addiction services, as well as housing and job-training opportunities.
With a number of drug crimes becoming misdemeanors under the new law, an unintended consequence has been mass addiction, said Reisig, “with very few resources to help people who are out on the streets.”
The Prop. 47 Collaborative, which also comprises the Public Defender’s Office and Probation Department under the lead of the Yolo County Health and Human Services Agency, launches later this year with funding from a $5 million grant from the Board of State and Community Corrections.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene