Case #0318

Cold Cases in San Joaquin County:
On the Back Burner

See the full report: Cold Cases in San Joaquin County: On the Back Burner

 

There are more than 500 cold case homicides in San Joaquin County, including at least 12 homicide victims whose remains have never been positively identified.

“We think it’s so important that we have somebody assigned to these cases because we have hurting families who have never received closure.”

 

Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones

Summary

The San Joaquin County 2018-2019 Civil Grand Jury investigated municipal and county law enforcement agencies throughout the County to determine the status of cold case investigations.

Major Findings

  • There are more than 500 cold case homicides in San Joaquin County. The exact number of cold case homicides is unknown due to the lack of a consistent “cold case” definition and the lack of a digitized tracking system.
  • Cold case homicide investigations in San Joaquin County rarely result in case closure, arrest, or prosecution.
  • There is insufficient staffing and funding for cold case investigations in San Joaquin County due primarily to financial limitations and lack of priority.

Major Recommendations

  • The San Joaquin County Sheriff and the San Joaquin County District Attorney utilize budget options and staffing reassignments to provide the equivalent of at least three full-time Sheriff’s Detectives and at least two full-time District Attorney’s Investigators dedicated solely to cold case investigations.
  • The City of Stockton utilize budget options and staffing reassignments as necessary to provide the equivalent of at least three full-time Police Detectives dedicated solely to cold case investigations no later than December 31, 2019.
  • The San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office establish a Cold Case Task Force including each law enforcement agency in San Joaquin County.

Responses

Sheriff

“The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office secured two full-time “Cold Case” detective allocations in the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year Budget, in addition to the sergeant position that already exists. … The Sheriff’s Office will utilize per-diem deputies to provide the equivalent of three full-time detectives.”

 

District Attorney

“The District Attorney will implement this Recommendation both in the future and by continuing to allocate and prioritize existing resources to investigate cold cases.”

“The District Attorney’s Office will implement this Recommendation in the future through the establishment of a Cold Case Task Force for all countywide law enforcement agencies”