Brain Drain. Bad situation gets worse: Allan Dollison out

◼ The rumors prove true.

◼ Deputy district attorney out after 6 years

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos confirmed Tuesday that Allan Dollison no longer works in his office as a deputy district attorney.

Gallegos said he could not comment on whether Dollison -- a United State Army veteran who served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq -- had resigned or was terminated on Friday. He was hired by the office in 2006.

”Certainly, I appreciate all of Allan's work with the District Attorney's Office and his commitment to his community and country,” Gallegos said Tuesday. “But other than that, I can't discuss the nature of his leaving.”

County Human Resources Department Director Dan Fulks said he could not immediately comment on the circumstances surrounding Dollison's departure....

Early in his career, Dollison was disciplined by the State Bar.

In August 2000, Dollison received a 60-day suspension of his law license and was placed on two years' probation after stipulating to 16 counts of misconduct in four consolidated cases, according to the State Bar.

Those included failing to perform legal services competently or respond to client inquires; improperly withdrawing from representation; failing to return client files and unearned fees; and two counts of failing to cooperate with the bar's investigation.

The State Bar report stated as a mitigating factor that Dollison started a solo law practice soon after passing the bar, but due to a lack of experience and business acumen, he accepted difficult cases for relatively low fees.

When he was hired by Humboldt County District Attorney's Office in 2006, Dollison said in an interview with the Times-Standard that he got in over his head as a new attorney and took on more than he could handle at the time.
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Related - in over his head?:

◼ Tim Stoen, Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz, and now this... - WP Oct 23, 2006
◼ What're we talkin' about here? - WP Oct 24, 2006

The sad thing is - he probably was one of the best attorneys Gallegos had, once he "lost," fired or got rid of all the experienced DDAs.

And there were rumors he might be considering running for Psul's seat.
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Question is - who - and what - is left.

Remember, Under Gallegos the DA's Office has "lost" all of Humboldt County's experienced prosecutors, and then some:

DDA Zach Bird
DDA Jose Mendez
DDA Ed Borg
DDA Worth Dikeman
DDA Frank Dunnick
DDA Eamon Fitzgerald
DDA Heather Gimle
DDA Paul Hagen
DDA Nicole Hansen
DDA Shane Hauschild
DDA Andrew Isaac
DDA Allison Jackson
DDA Harry Kassakian
DDA Elizabeth Norton
DDA Murat Ozgur
Patrick Pekin
DDA Amanda Penny
DDA Gloria Albin-Sheets
Jennifer Strona
DDA Andy Truitt
DDA Nandor Vadas
DDA Rob Wade
Bill Rodstrom
PLUS:
Investigator Chris Andrews
Investigator Chris Cook
Investigator Jim Dawson (retired)
Paul's secretary Gail Dias
Office Manager Linda Modell
Investigator Eric Olson
Investigator Kathy Philp (retired)
Investigator Dave Dave Rybarczyk
Investigator Dave Walker
FROM CAST:
Child Interview Specialist Laura Todd
Senior Legal Secretary Melissa Arnold
Alternate Child Interviewer Jennifer Maguire

And, of course: Schwartz and Stoen.

Question, still, is "Who's left?"

Answer:
Maggie Fleming, Max Cardoza, Wes Keat, Stacey Eads (on leave),
Allan Dollison, Arnie Klein, Jeff Schwartz,
Mary McCarthy, Davina Smith and Randy Mailman (the newest hire)

Two deputies leave DA's Office 3/8/2007
Update: 6/12/2007
County Counsel Kim Kerr - Longtime employee of the county takes job in Ione

8/12/07
Like Stoen leaving, this is good news... "yougofree.com" Jeffrey Scwhartz is leaving the DA's Office, going in to private practice (No surprise since he has had his "practice" listed in the phone book for the better part of a year, while acting as a prosecutor, which should be a big no-no.) 8/31/07, yougofree.com is gone.

1/2008 Davina Smith moves to the County Counsel's Office.

9/25/08 Deputy District Attorney Kelly Neel, who has been handling the (Belant) case, will be leaving the office for another job at the County Counsel Office, Gallegos said.

1/5/10 Kathleen Bryson, hired and reputedly fired by Gallegos, is now running against him... ◼ Local attorney throws hat in the ring for DA

DDA Ben McLaughlin

Jackie Ray Hovarter - Affirmed

Jackie Ray Hovarter has been on death row for the 1984 kidnapping, rape and murder of a teenage girl from Willits. ☛ JN GENERATION NEXT ON THE BENCH

☛ PEOPLE v. HOVARTER (JACKIE RAY) 08 S.O.S. 4839.
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF CALIFORNIA...

A Humboldt County jury convicted Jackie Ray Hovarter in 1988 of the first degree murder of Danna Elizabeth Walsh. (Pen. Code, § 187; all further statutory references are to this code unless otherwise indicated.) It also convicted defendant of kidnapping and forcibly raping Walsh (§§ 207, subd. (a), 261, former subd. (2), now see id., subd. (a)(2)) and sustained special circumstance allegations that he murdered Walsh while engaged in the commission of a kidnapping and rape (§ 190.2, former subd. (a)(17)(ii) & (iii), now subd. (a)(17)(B) & (C)). The jury was unable to reach a verdict as to penalty, and the trial court declared a mistrial.
Defendant, with the agreement of counsel, waived his right to a jury for the penalty retrial, and in 1989, the trial court, sitting as the trier of fact, returned a verdict of death under the 1978 death penalty law. (§ 190.1 et seq.) This appeal is automatic. (§ 1239, subd. (b).)

As explained below, we conclude the guilt and penalty judgments should be affirmed in their entirety.

Related:
☛ metnews.com
On Tuesday, August 12, 2008, Supreme Court Rules Defendant May Waive Jury for Death Penalty Retrial
The justices affirmed the death sentence of Jackie Ray Hovarter, convicted of killing a young woman, Danna Walsh, who was abducted, raped, and strangled. Her body was found under the Scotia Bridge, about 30 miles south of Eureka in Humboldt County, in August 1984.

Hovarter, a truck driver from the San Francisco Bay area who transported wood pulp from a mill near the crime scene, was charged with the murder after he was identified as the perpetrator of another crime—the abduction, rape, and shooting of a teenager in Mendocino County in December 1984.

While in jail, Hovarter allegedly confessed both crimes to his cellmate, Gary Marolla. Marolla, who was being held on drug and weapons charges, negotiated a deal in which he received 111 days’ credit for time served and probation in exchange for his testimony against Hovarter.
Besides Marolla, prosecutors called the victim of the Mendocino County crime, identified only as A.L. Humboldt Superior Court Judge William F. Ferroggiaro Jr. ruled that her testimony—in which she explained how Hovarter tied her to a tree, assaulted her, shot her twice and left her for dead—was more probative than prejudicial, citing the similarities between the crimes. Both of the attacks occurred along U.S. 101—which Hovarter traveled on his route between his home, the mill, and the Oakland yard to which he delivered the wood pulp—and the modus operandi were similar, the judge ruled.

Much of the case against Hovarter was circumstantial, including evidence that on the morning of the crime, he arrived at the mill more than two hours later than usual, and about an hour after the murder occurred.

Jurors found Hovarter guilty of first degree murder, kidnapping, and forcible rape, with special circumstances of rape and kidnapping. After jurors deadlocked in the penalty phase, Hovarter agreed to have the judge alone decide the sentence, and Ferroggiaro opted for the death penalty.

Our loss, Their Gain.

Worth Dikeman accepts position in El Dorado County

What a loss for Humboldt County.