Alameda prosecution unit resolves 111 cases in first year

“I think the unit’s work is an amazing success,” Alameda City Attorney Yibin Shen said.

ALAMEDA — Alameda’s city prosecutor office has cleared 111 misdemeanor cases in its first full year of operation.

The Prosecution and Public Rights Unit of the Alameda City Attorney’s Office, as it is officially called, was created in 2020 to take on cases the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office was not pursuing, often because of a lack of resources. The city prosecutor’s office has reviewed a total of 454 cases.

“I think the unit’s work is an amazing success,” Alameda City Attorney Yibin Shen said in an interview. “We did not think that this small unit could handle close to 500 cases; that’s a lot of cases for a small group of people to handle.”

The bulk of the unit’s cases last year, 54%, were for crimes such as driving under the influence, court order violations, disturbing the peace and drug possession.

Out of the 111 cases that were resolved, 39 resulted in convictions, 54 were dismissed and 18 resulted in diversion. As of January, 154 cases are still active.

Since its inception, the unit has reviewed almost 700 cases. It also has delved into other areas, such as fair housing violations.

One involved an owner move-in violation. A local landlord evicted the tenants on the grounds that the owner wanted to move into the residence. However, the landlord never moved in. The Prosecution and Public Rights Unit went after the landlord, who paid $10,000 in penalties to the former tenants and fees to the city.

Wesley Cheung was chosen to lead the unit in January. He was previously the felony prosecutor with the Kern County District Attorney’s Office and more recently, deputy city prosecutor with the Alameda City Attorney’s Office.

The rest of the team includes Montague Hung, deputy city attorney; Samantha Gatton, legal fellow; and Elizabeth Martinez and Rico Fenix, paralegals.

Going forward, the unit plans to launch a housing mediation program, designed to bring together landlords and tenants to resolve rent disputes. It also is looking at expanding prosecution of domestic violence, elder abuse and sex offense cases.