DA: Office will pursue cases from Patterson

Sixteenth Judicial District Attorney Bo Duhé said Wednesday that his office has no problem pursuing criminal cases developed by the Patterson Police Department. But he said a case that raised questions about the DA’s Office pursuit of referrals from the Patterson police hasn’t been turned over to his office yet.

Speaking generally, “I’m not aware of any problem with cases in Patterson,” Duhé said in a phone interview Wednesday.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Red Cypress Road resident Carrie Kunschner said her home was burglarized in November 2019, resulting in the loss of property valued at more than $15,000.

Even though some of the property has been recovered, Kunschner said, she’s having trouble finding out what’s happening in the case. A possible suspect has been identified but no arrest has been made in the burglary investigation.

That raised questions at the meeting about whether the DA’s Office is responding to cases submitted by the Patterson Police Department.

“If the district attorney is reluctant to pursue crime in Patterson, we need to find out why,” City Attorney Russel Cremaldi said.

Cremaldi was to write a letter to Duhé’s office to ask whether there is some problem with Patterson cases.

Duhé said Wednesday that he talked to Cremaldi Wednesday morning. And his staff has talked with Kunschner recently about the case, he said.

“I understand Mrs. Kunschner’s frustration as the victim of a crime,” Duhé said.

But the normal procedure would be for the DA’s Office to become involved in the case after an arrest is made, Duhé said. That’s when prosecutors decide whether the evidence is strong enough to justify a bill of information formally charging the suspect with the crime or taking the case to a grand jury.

Police may seek legal advice from the office before an arrest, but the investigation itself isn’t part of the DA’s role, Duhé said.

“We don’t have a case in our office yet,” he said.

“We welcome any case coming in from Patterson …,” Duhé said. “They do their job.”