Successful Gang Prosecutor Rotated Out of South County

After eight years of prosecuting gang members in the South
County, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Stuart Scott
has ended his term in that position and will be working on other
criminal cases in the county.
San Jose – After eight years of prosecuting gang members in the South County, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Stuart Scott has ended his term in that position and will be working on other criminal cases in the county. 

“I’ll be back,” Scott said Wednesday. “I plan to be around for a while, and with the rotation, I’m sure I’ll get back down there.”

With the change in administration in the District Attorney’s office as Dolores Carr was elected to replace retiring District Attorney George Kennedy, Scott said, attorneys are being shifted into different positions.

“The thinking is that trial attorneys need a break after a time, a chance to recharge their batteries after the stress of the courtroom,” he said “I have enjoyed my time in the courtroom, and I know I’ll enjoy this new assignment. But I can’t say enough about the outstanding work of the officers and detectives of the Gilroy Police Department and the Morgan Hill Police Department.”

During his years as a trial attorney, Scott prosecuted many high-profile gang cases, including the murder at the 7-Eleven on Leavesley Road in Gilroy in 2004 and the more recent gang murder of Luis Bautista in Morgan Hill in September 2005, both resulting in convictions.

“He is a unique prosecutor in that he truly cares about all of the cases he takes on,” Gilroy Police Sgt. Jim Gillio said Thursday. “He handles a case with a thoroughness that is exceptional. He dedicates himself to the case and immerses himself in the case, focused on obtaining a conviction.”

Scott credits much of his success in the courtroom to the work of the GPD and the MHPD.

“And the administration in both departments has been very supportive of the gang suppression efforts,” he said. “Both (GPD) Chief Gregg Giusiana and (MHPD) Chief Bruce Cumming are motivated and have provided their officers with the resources to aggressively go after the gang community here, resulting in a drastic reduction of gang activity … When I first began prosecuting gangs in this area, it seems like we had a shooting or a stabbing every weekend, if not more often.”

The Santa Clara County Superior Court judges he has worked with in the South County during his eight years here have also made a difference, Scott said.

“We have had some great trial judges and preliminary trial judges to work with,” he said. “Judge Kenneth Shapero has been excellent … he has kept many of the major murder cases in the South County [instead of a San Jose courtroom].”

Morgan Hill police Detective Kevin Beilmann has worked with Scott on two gang cases.

“He’s a hard worker; he’ll be missed.” he said.

Over the years that Scott has prosecuted gangs, Gillio said, the climate in South County has become decidedly less friendly to gangs.

“I can think of at least three or four gangs that have been wiped out,” he said. “He has been instrumental in having 80 to 90 percent of the gangs court-certified as criminal street gangs, a tedious process.”

Gilroy police officer Daniel Zen worked with Scott while on the department’s gang task force and said Scott had extensive knowledge of the gangs in the area.

“Unlike many prosecutors, who are reassigned or rotate out after a year or so, Scott was here long enough and he cared enough so that he knows a lot of the gang members,” he said. “Usually, it’s the officers who have that in depth knowledge of the gang community.”