Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA in Stanislaus County, California

Funding from the BJA FY 2022 Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA grant program will enable the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office to review, investigate, and analyze violent crime cold cases that have remained unsolved for at least three years and have the potential to be solved and/or prosecuted through the application of the forensic techniques and/or technologies. Lead agency for the project is Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office (local prosecutorial agency).

The District Attorney’s Office will work collaboratively with law enforcement to address the project’s two main goals:

Increase the number of violent crime cold case prosecutions in Stanislaus County.
Decrease the number of unresolved violent crime cold cases awaiting prosecution.

Project primary objectives include:

Prosecute cold cases involving violent crimes (UCR Part 1 violent crimes) where suspects have been identified through DNA evidence using the process outlined in the proposal narrative through the work of an experienced investigator and his team.
Decrease the number of violent crime cold cases where suspect DNA has been identified through local law enforcement agencies in Stanislaus County.

At the beginning of the project period, project staff will review all violent crime cold cases that have been identified in Stanislaus County that meet the cold case criteria.  Investigator Craig Grogan will work collaboratively with local law enforcement and an experienced Criminalist to prioritize which cases have the highest potential to be solved and/or prosecuted through the application of the forensic techniques and/or technologies. Once cases are examined, Investigator Grogan and his team will determine the cases to review. He will work in tandem with a detective from the law enforcement agency where the cold case occurred conducting case review, investigation, crime analysis, and evidence analyses phases. Investigator Grogan will have primary oversight of the continued investigation with assistance from the detective and with direction from the assigned prosecutor as they prepare for the collection of additional evidence, interviews, an arrest and, ultimately, a jury trial.  

The target is to work a minimum of 30 cold cases. Funds included in the project budget will ensure an appropriate number of DNA tests for each case.

The priority consideration is 1(A) which is outlined in the program narrative on page 10.

The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office is requesting $500,000 for the project period beginning October 1, 2022 and ending September 30, 2025. The proposed service area is Stanislaus County, California.