Scott Owens with Brad Fenocchio

It appears prosecutor Scott Owens will be Placer County’s next district attorney.

The candidate filing period for the Placer County June primary ballot officially closed March 12. However, positions in which the incumbent did not file were left open five additional days.

Placer County District Attorney Brad Fenocchio is not seeking another term, and without a challenger, Owens is the only candidate as of the close of filing Wednesday.

In January, Sacramento prosecutor Scott Triplett pulled out of the district attorney race citing personal reasons.

Unless there is a write-in candidate during the June election, Owens appears to be the county’s next top prosecutor.

Owens gained early support for his campaign from multiple elected officials including Sheriff Ed Bonner, who is also running unopposed this year, Fenocchio and labor groups such as the Placer County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Placer County Deputy District Attorney’s Association.

In a prior Journal report, Owens said he was “humbled” by the number of backers.

“People have asked me why I want this job,” Owens said. “I say, ‘why wouldn’t I want this job?’ when my career is committed to public safety.”

It was a day 67 years in the making.

On Wednesday (December 16, 2009) Placer County officials and members of the Japanese American Citizens League unveiled the first phase of a monument to honor the Placer County soldiers who fought in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

Despite threats of a downpour, more than 100 Placer County residents gathered in front of the Bill Santucci Justice Center in Roseville to celebrate the monument and the four surviving 442nd soldiers from Placer County.

“Remember, these were ordinary men who went out to do extraordinary things and in a time when their loyalty to their country was held in deep suspicion,” said the Rev. Maggie McNaught of First United Methodist Church in Loomis.

Shigeo Yokote, Frank Kageta, Norman Kamada and Al Nitta were introduced and greeted by a standing ovation before helping to unveil the monument that was built in their honor.

“We can’t measure their accomplishments on a plaque or repay their sacrifices with a ceremony,” said Assistant District Attorney Scott Owens. “But we can honor them by paying respect and tell those that remain, ‘Thank you.’”

Designed by Yamasaki Landscape Architecture in Auburn, the monument includes a 36-foot compass inlaid in concrete to immortalize the members of the 442. The compass is meant to symbolize where the soldiers came from, where they fought and where they returned, said Tim Arndt, senior project manager for Placer County’s Parks division.

The compass is framed by two granite boulders that hold bronze plaques dedicating the monument and describing the history of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

The plaque states that in 1942, President Roosevelt allowed second-generation Japanese-American soldiers to enlist for military service, but in segregated units.

By war’s end, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team had fought in some of the most dangerous battles and came home among the most decorated units in American history.

The monument is located near Go For Broke Road, which Placer County supervisors named in 2007 in honor of the 442 motto.

Looking at the monument, Kamada and Kageta reminisced about digging and hiding in foxholes together. Kamada, just 18 at the time, said Kageta looked out for him like a brother and the two continue to be good friends.

While admiring the plaques honoring his service, Nitta said he was reminded of the internment camps and the pain he felt for his parents and family members during that time.

“You look at this and you can’t help but get a little emotional,” Nitta said. “But I don’t cry, I have allergies.”

At the center of the compass stands a third granite boulder, which is to be the site for the second phase of the monument scheduled to be completed early next year.

In February, two life-sized bronze statues, crafted by local artist France Borka, will stand atop the boulder at the center of the compass.

Borka said the statues depict 442 soldiers returning from their most heroic battle in the Vosges Mountains in France. Borka said the soldier statue would face the Santucci Justice Center’s American flag, “guiding them to what America stands for and what they fought so bravely for.”

“It’s too much,” Kageta said. “I didn’t do those things to be a hero or to be recognized. I don’t think heroes set out to be heroes. I never gave what I did a second thought until today and I’m honored. ”

Suzanne Gazzaniga and David Tellman received the statewide award for rural and medium counties – populations of 400,000 or less — during the CDAA’s annual conference in South Lake Tahoe.

“This is the second year in a row and the third time in six years that Placer County has been able to bring home this prestigious award,” Placer County Assistant District Attorney Scott Owens said.

“It’s a testament to the strength, depth, dedication and experience of the prosecutors who work in the Placer County District Attorney’s Office.”

Previous winners of the Prosecutor of the Year award are Placer County Senior Deputy District Attorney Garen Horst in 2008 and Supervising Deputy District Attorney Thomas Beattie in 2004.

Horst successfully prosecuted Mario Flavio Garcia in the murder of Christie Wilson, whose body has never been found, and Beattie got a conviction in the case of Arturo Juarez Suarez, who murdered and then buried two adults and two children in a mass grave.

Gazzaniga and Tellman won the award largely for their successful prosecution of Paul R. Kovacich, Jr., a former Placer County sheriff’s sergeant whose wife, Janet, then 27, disappeared from the couple’s Auburn home in 1982.

Auburn police interviewed Kovacich several times within the first year of his wife’s disappearance but he was not charged with a crime because of lack of evidence. There were no witnesses to her disappearance or suspected murder.

In 1995, the top of a skull was found in the dry lakebed of Rollins Lake near Colfax. It appeared to have a bullet hole on the right side. Attempts to identify the skull as that of Janet Kovacich were unsuccessful at the time.

However, in 2003, Auburn police reopened the case, conducting followups on interviews from the 1980s. By early 2007, new DNA techniques also allowed investigators to establish that the partial skull was that of Janet Kovacich.

Paul Kovacich was indicted on a murder charge and prosecutors Gazzaniga and Tellman commenced trial in Placer County Superior Court on Oct. 6, 2008.

On Jan. 27, 2009, a 12-member jury returned a guilty verdict against Kovacich for first-degree murder and determined that he used a firearm. Kovacich, 59, is now serving a state prison term of 27 years to life.

Placer County District Attorney Brad Fenocchio wrote in his nomination paper to the CDAA that Gazzaniga and Tellman “boldly brought their unique skills, intellects and sheer courtroom mastery together in order to reach back in time and hold accountable someone who sought to escape justice.”

Owens said the case was difficult because of its age and the circumstantial nature of the evidence.

“It’s a tribute to the hard work and dedication of Ms. Gazzaniga and Mr. Tellman and to all of the prosecution team that worked on this case,” he said.

“And it would also not have been possible to get a conviction without the cooperative efforts of the law enforcement agencies that worked on the case, including the Auburn Police Department, the Placer County Sheriff’s Department, the California Department of Justice and the FBI.”

Both Gazzaniga and Tellman are products of Placer County high schools.

Gazzaniga, a 13-year veteran prosecutor in Placer, is a graduate of Del Oro High School in Loomis and of UCLA, where she was a member of the women’s crew team, earning most outstanding senior oarswoman.

She received her law degree from Southwestern University School of Law. In 2005, Gazzaniga won the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for prosecution of elder abuse crimes.

Tellman, a 15-year member of the Placer district attorney’s office, is a graduate of Colfax High School and the University of California at Santa Barbara. His law degree is from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law.

Tellman has been a judge for Placer County Peer Court, a coach for Placer Hills Youth Soccer and president of the Placer County Bar Association. In 2006, he was named regional prosecutor of the year for Central California by the California Narcotics Officers Association.

Gazzaniga, lead prosecutor in the Kovacich case, said the two were proud to perform justice for the family of the murdered Janet Gregoire Kovacich.

“When I was presented with the opportunity to be the lead attorney on a case involving the cold, calculated murder of a young mother of two children by a law enforcement officer that occurred 26 years prior, it was an incredible privilege,” she said.

“It was an absolute honor to champion justice for the young mother’s parents, who passed away never knowing justice. To receive an award for this work is a tribute to all those involved in this case who perservered and dedicated themselves to the pursuit of justice.”

Placer County’s Acting Assistant District Attorney, Ronald “Scott” Owens, has announced that he is seeking the office’s top job in the 2010 elections.

Longtime District Attorney Brad Fenocchio announced in September that he plans to retire, and backs Owens’ campaign.

“I can think of no better person to be the next district attorney of Placer County than Scott Owens,” Fenocchio said.

Owens, 45, has been working at the District Attorney’s Office since 1990. The county’s law enforcement agencies need a district attorney who will continue to support their field work, Owens said.

“In addition, the prosecutors in our office need a district attorney who will support them in their pursuit of justice for the victims of crimes,” Owens said.

Owens said one of the issues he plans to tackle as district attorney is elder abuse.

As the budget tightens in a lean economy, Owens said, the office will also have to explore ways of maximizing fewer resources.

“Scott has a great understanding of criminal justice,” Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner said.

As a deputy district attorney, Owens prosecuted some high-profile cases, including the Colfax bombing case that made national headlines in 1995. Following a successful case that included homicide, carjacking, kidnapping and bank robbery, Owens was chosen by his peers in 1998 as the “Prosecutor of the Year.”

Owens grew up in the Auburn-Colfax area, earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from California State University, Sacramento, and attended McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific. He received a juris doctorate in May 1989.

Before joining the District Attorney’s Office, he worked as a group counselor to juvenile delinquents at the Probation Department.

Source: The Sacramento Bee

In addition to Fenocchio, Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonner and Roseville Mayor Gina Garbolino spoke to the large crowd expressing their support for Owens and reasons why they have endorsed him. Mayor Garbolino stated, “Scott has a great understanding of criminal justice. He is community minded, thoughtful, approachable…but also has the toughness and skills to be a great DA. I am very proud to support Scott for District Attorney. ” Sheriff Ed Bonner added “During the nearly two decades I have been fortunate enough to work with him, I have come to know and respect Scott Owens as a true champion of victims rights and look forward to continuing to work with him as our next District Attorney.”

The audience at Saturday night’s dinner, hosted inside the Placer Hall building at Auburn’s Gold Country Fairgrounds, included over thirty elected officials from throughout Placer and neighboring counties, including all but one of the five Placer County Supervisors (Robert Weygandt was unable to attend though he has endorsed Owens), several judges, Assemblyman Ted Gaines and City Council members from all of Placer County’s cities. Owens also had hundreds of grassroots level supporters, friends and family on hand to see him make his formal announcement and show their support for the long-time Placer County resident.

In a showing of the law enforcement communities support, there were a tremendous number of law enforcement officials and officers present. “Placer County is lucky to have some of the finest law enforcement officers, investigators and prosecutors in the Country. Those on the streets tonight, and those here, work hard every day to ensure the residents of Placer County are safe. But they can’t do it alone. They need a District Attorney’s office that will continue to be aggressive and strong in their support of the officers and investigators in the field and the community they serve.” Owens stated during his remarks. “In addition, the prosecutors in our office need a District Attorney who will support them in their pursuit of justice for the victims of crimes. It is for these reasons that I am proud to say that in the 2010 election, I am running for District Attorney of Placer County.”

Summary Biography:
Ronald “Scott” Owens has been in law enforcement for more than 25 years working at the Placer County District Attorney’s office since 1990 and working for the Placer County Probation Department prior to that. Since beginning his law enforcement career, Scott has seen the many changes that have taken place within Placer County and the criminal justice system. During his time with the District Attorney’s Office, he has prosecuted all manners of crimes, from driving under the influence cases to homicides. As a Deputy District Attorney, he tried the case of People v. Kidwell, the first three strikes case to hit Placer County. He also prosecuted People v Townsend, the first “High Tech” trial in Placer County, and People v. Eggen, the Colfax bombing case that made national headlines in 1995. In 1998, Owens was chosen by his peers as the “Prosecutor of the Year”, following his successful prosecution of a high profile case that included homicide/carjacking with kidnapping and bank robbery.

Owens earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the California State University, Sacramento in 1986. In May of 1989, he received a Juris Doctorate from McGeorge School of Law, University of the Pacific.

Owens grew up in Placer County living in the Auburn and Colfax areas and has consistently been active in many community activities and organizations including the Colfax High School Track and Stadium Project, Colfax High School Parent Club, The Tommy Apostolos Fund, the Roseville Police Athletic League and many more.

Source: Rocklin & Roseville Today