On Wednesday morning December 21, 2022, San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office Gun Violence Prevention Program (GVPP) Detectives, in collaboration with the Menlo Park Police Department served a search warrant that resulted in the seizure of prohibited firearms in the City of Menlo Park. The GVPP Detectives identified Kristian Arnaldo Arguello as a “prohibited person” who is not allowed to possess firearms and/or ammunition based upon a 2015 criminal conviction. Arguello had firearms still registered in his name, despite the 2015 prohibition. GVPP Detectives obtained a search warrant for Mr. Arguello’s residence, and they worked closely with the Menlo Park Police Department’s Investigations Division. As a result of the search warrant served yesterday on the 1300 Block of Henderson Avenue in Menlo Park, Detectives recovered an unregistered and prohibited AR15 assault weapon, numerous high capacity magazines for the AR15, hundreds of rounds of .223 ammunition, a Glock .40 caliber handgun, a Beretta 9mm handgun and 9mm and .40 caliber ammunition. Kristian Arnaldo Arguello was taken in custody and booked into the San Mateo County Jail for 29805(A)(1) PC, 30605(a) PC, and 30305(a)(1) PC, two of which are felony charges. This was a collaborative effort by our Gun Violence Prevention Program Detectives and the Menlo Park Police Department that will help keep our communities in San Mateo County safer.
On October 21, 2022, after 40 minutes of deliberation, a jury convicted Defendant Jowy Roman of Assault on A Peace Officer. On January 22, 2020, police went to the Defendant’s home to serve an arrest warrant and search warrant stemming from the Defendant’s years-long molestation of a minor victim. When officers arrived, the Defendant hid in the shower with a knife. Officers entered bathroom and the Defendant stabbed one officer in the chest which resulted in minor injuries. The knife did not penetrate the officer’s Kevlar vest. During the Defendant’s attack, a second officer shot the Defendant once in abdomen. The jury trial began with the Defendant facing 28 counts related to the molestation of the minor victim, with the 29th count being Assault on A Peace Officer for the January 22, 2020 incident. Midway through the victim’s testimony, the Defendant pled guilty to all 28 counts relating to the molestation. The Defendant is facing a minimum of over 100 years in prison on those counts alone. The trial continued on the one count concerning the Assault on A Peace Officer. The prosecutor was Sexual Assault DDA Nicole Sato, and the Investigating Officer was Clara Leong of the Foster City Police Department.
On September 13, 2022, after two days of deliberation, a jury convicted Defendant Christian Fuentes of the 2011 murder of Catherine Fisher and the attempted murder of Jamal Thomas. The jury also found a special allegation that the Defendant Fuentes was lying in wait true.
On September 9, 2022, after one hour of deliberation, a jury convicted defendant David Alexander Wolpert of making criminal threats in violation of Penal Code sections 422. The jury also found a special allegation that the Defendant used a weapon in violation of Penal Code Section 12022(b)(1) to be true.
On June 30, 2022 the San Mateo County Agriculture Department pest detection team found a single Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) in a baited trap in Menlo Park. The team followed up with a delimitation survey that includes 40 traps within one square mile of the find. This is in addition to 80 existing traps within the 8 square miles surrounding the find. No new Oriental fruit flies have been detected. Oriental fruit flies are an invasive pest native to southern Asia, that has become established in Hawaii.
San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe and all members of the District Attorney's Office are saddened and horrified by the tragic massacre of 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas.
On May 19, 2022, after a day of deliberation, a jury convicted Defendant Anthony Quinnine of three felony counts including theft from an elder and extortion.
The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office announced that defendant David Wayne Jenkins was sentenced today after a plea of no contest to charges related to his failure to pay farm workers during December 2020 and January 2021, at the hemp farm he was operating in Half Moon Bay. The defendant also pled no contest to charges that he failed to transmit taxes withheld from his employees’ wages and failed to maintain a workers’ compensation insurance policy.
People v. Atonio Finauhuia William Finau On April 27, 2022, after less than 2 hours of deliberations, a jury convicted Defendant Atonio Finauhuia William Finau of five felony counts including robbery, commercial burglary and recklessly evading a police officer.
In April 2019, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office received a whistle-blower complaint of public corruption against members of the executive leadership of the San Mateo County Community College District. The District operates three Colleges: Cañada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College. The current Board of Trustees, through their outside counsel, Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw, Pittman, LLP., has been supportive of our efforts in obtaining records and conducting interviews of District personnel, assisting our investigation that has resulted in the filing of these felony charges. In December 2021, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office brought felony charges against former Vice Chancellor of Facilities Jose Nunez, who pled guilty to two felony violations of Education Code Section 7054 (Use of School Funds for Political Purposes) in January 2022.
On March 11, 2022, after 1 day of deliberations, a jury found Defendant Patrick Joseph Andorfer guilty of one felony count of soliciting sex with a minor and one felony count of contacting a minor for a sexual offense.
On January 25, 2022 the California Attorney General issued a statewide alert for consumers to beware of illegitimate COVID-19 testing sites. These sites may fail to provide test results and/or use the patients’ personal identifiable information to commit fraud. The AG’s alert offers tips on how to avoid testing site scams, as well as how to locate legitimate, verified testing sites. Attorney General Bonta Warns Californians to Beware of Illegitimate COVID-19 Testing Sites | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General Please report fake testing sites in San Mateo County to our Consumer & Environmental Unit. A complaint form can be obtained by calling (650) 363-4651. State and spell your name and address on the recording and a complaint form will be mailed to you. You can also fill to out here: consumer complaint form. Completed complaint forms should be emailed to smda@smcgov.org, sent by US mail to San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, 400 County Center, 3rd Floor, Redwood City, CA 94063 or delivered to our office.