| For Immediate Release April 10, 2012 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami
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OCDA PROSECUTOR AWARDED “OUTSTANDING PROSECUTOR OF THE YEAR” FOR CONVICTING 43 MURDER DEFENDANTS
SANTA ANA – Senior Deputy District Attorney Ebrahim Baytieh of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) received the “Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year” award from the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) for his outstanding prosecution and conviction of over 43 defendants for murder during his career. Baytieh will be presented the award during the CDAA Summer Conference on June 28, 2012, at the Silverado Resort in Napa.
Each year, CDAA recognizes individuals whose outstanding ability, professional dedication, personal sacrifice, and advancing ideals of criminal justice merit the respect and admiration of prosecutors statewide. Baytieth, of the OCDA’s Homicide Unit, has convicted 43 defendants of murder with no acquittals and obtained the death penalty against five of those defendants.
“This award is a tremendous acknowledgment of the hard work and dedication that Ebrahim puts into every case. He is passionate about protecting the rights of victims and tireless in his fight for justice,” said District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. “Ebrahim’s receipt of the ‘Prosecutor of the Year’ award is well deserved.”
Baytieh was assisted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Keith Bogardus in recently finishing a jury trial which lasted five months and required several months of grand jury investigation. The case involves nine inmates who beat a fellow inmate believed to be a child molester (Case #06CF3677). Baytieh faced major obstacles trying a case where witnesses were other inmates and jail deputies refused to testify.
Garrett Eugene Aguilar, Stephen Paul Carlstrom, Miguel Angel Guillen, Jared Louis Petrovich, and Raul Villafana faced a jury trial. The jury deliberated for more than three weeks in the trial before returning guilty verdicts on all five defendants. Jeremy Dezso Culmann, Michael Stewart Garten, and Christopher Teague pleaded guilty to murder. Eric Charles Miller is pending resolution.
To read about Case #06CF3677, please select the March, 21, 2012, press release titled “Inmate Sentenced to 15 years to Life in Prison for Beating-Murder of Fellow Inmate Believed to be in Custody for Child Molest,” under Press Releases/Media at www.orangecountyda.com.
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