Collin County DA August 2009 Newsletter

Welcome to this month’s newsletter from Collin County District Attorney John R. Roach and his staff. This newsletter is being sent to you because we believe you will find its contents informative and interesting.

We invite you to visit our website for more information about our office, our various programs, and victim services, frequently asked questions and much, much more.

Criminal Investigators’ Special Training

Criminal investigators Bobby Chacon, Kim Pickrell, and Gary Cochrane attended a week long Hostage Negotiation training class in June at the Frisco Police Department. The training class focused on dealing with individuals that may be holding hostages, barricading themselves, and crisis situations in general. It was instructed by Detective Dominick J. Misino, who is a 22 year veteran of the New York City Police Department. He served as the primary hostage negotiator his last six years with the NYPD. The class consisted of 24 people from different agencies and provided training for hostage negotiations by using different hostage and crisis scenarios with actors.

All of the Collin County District Attorney’s Criminal Investigators train monthly in active shooter response, dealing with crisis situations in the courthouses, and in the use of firearms, in addition to their regular duties and special assignments.

Citizen Prosecutor Academy Class X

It’s that time of year again! The Citizen Prosecutor Academy will begin on September 10 and will continue through November 12, 2009. The classes are 6:30- 9:00 on Thursday evenings. The academy is a ten week program that covers topics like Intake/ Grand Jury, Special Crimes, Crimes Against Children, Investigations, Judge’s Perspective, and DWIs. Students at the academy also visit the Collin County Jail, Medical Examiner’s Office, and Children’s Advocacy Center in Plano. Visit www.collincountyda.com/citizen.htm for more information.

Case Spotlight:

Zeigler Sentenced to Life

On June 3, 2009, Eric Ziegler was sentenced to Life in prison for the horrific 2008 murder of Yvonne Zamudio. The jury’s verdict concluded a week-long trial in which evidence showed that Ziegler and a companion strangled Ms. Zamudio and, then, dismembered her body in a Richardson home. Ziegler had an extensive criminal history, including two previous prison sentences. Ziegler, 34, must spend at least 30 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole. Collin County Assistant District Attorneys Scott Becker and John Schomburger represented the State of Texas in this case.

Philippe Padieu Sentenced to 45 Years

Philippe Padieu was convicted on May 29, 2009 of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon for the transmission of HIV to his sexual partners in six separate cases. Padieu was informed that he was HIV positive on September 12, 2005 but continued to engage in unprotected sexual contact with multiple partners without informing them of his HIV status. Four additional women testified they had a sexual relationship with Padieu who never informed them of his HIV status and all four are HIV positive. This case was tried by Assistant District Attorneys Lisa King and Curtis Howard. This trial will be featured on an upcoming episode of 20/20.

First Conviction of Super Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child

The Collin County District Attorney’s Office obtained its first conviction for the new offense of Super Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child (Super ASAC) on June 2, 2009. The case was elevated to Super ASAC because of the age of the victim, who was only two years old at the time of the offenses. G.D. Samford was convicted of two counts of Super ASAC and two counts of Indecency with a Child. The defendant was convicted after an open plea and received Life on each count of Super ASAC without the possibility of parole. He also received 20 years on each Indecency count. All sentences will be served concurrently. The case was tried by Assistant District Attorney Michelle Voirin.

Mortgage Fraud Nets 25 Year Sentence

Over the course of several years, John Barry orchestrated a mortgage fraud scheme involving eleven homes on Hills Creek Drive in McKinney, Texas, and numerous other properties in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. Barry purchased homes at fair market value and sold them to straw buyers for inflated prices supported by fraudulent appraisals. The straw buyer borrowers’ applications for mortgage loans contained numerous false statements, including representations that the borrowers worked for one of Barry’s companies and earned in excess of $20,000 per month. Barry also transferred money into the borrowers’ bank accounts to ensure that they qualified for their loans, and paid the borrowers bonuses of $20,000 or more for each of the multiple homes they purchased. From the fraudulently-obtained loan proceeds for each of the homes in question, Barry could pocket two hundred thousand dollars or more. Each of the properties involved in Barry’s scam subsequently went into foreclosure. Barry was indicted for two counts each of Money Laundering, False Statement to Obtain Property or Credit, and Securing Execution of a Document by Deception, in connection with two of the properties he purchased on Hills Creek Drive. Barry’s cases were tried in the 366th District Court, with visiting Judge John Nelms presiding, by Assistant District Attorneys Benjamin Smith and Christopher Milner.

Employee Recognition: Alyson Dietrich: Chief, Family Justice Division

Mrs. Alyson Dietrich graduated from The University of Texas with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism in 1996, and went on to graduate from Texas Tech with a Juris Doctorate in 1999. While an undergraduate, she was part of the Senior Fellows Honors Program. In Law School she was a Board of Barrister’s Member.

She became an assistant DA for Collin County on August 16, 1999. In those ten years, she has had assignments as a Misdemeanor Prosecutor, Misdemeanor Chief, prosecutor for a Felony Trial Team, and as a prosecutor for the Family Justice Division. Mrs. Dietrich is currently the Chief of the Family Justice Division.

As Chief of the Family Justice Division, she handles, assigns, and supervises juvenile cases, Child Protective Services cases, Adult Protective Services, Protective Orders, and the prosecution of Domestic Violence cases in the Felony and Misdemeanor Divisions. Mrs. Dietrich and prosecutor Karen Chesley have created a Domestic Violence Intake procedure for the Family Justice Division. Mrs. Dietrich and Ms. Chesley organize and conduct Domestic Violence trial workshops for the prosecutors and investigators in the Misdemeanor Division.

Mrs. Dietrich also has a passion for being very involved with various committees and organizations, including the Collin County Council on Family Violence, and the Collin County Adult Protective Services Special Task Force Unit. She was a member or the original planning team in creating a Collin County Alliance for Drug- Endangered Children. Mrs. Dietrich was President of Collin County Young Lawyers Association (CCYLA) for the 2005-2006 term and has been a Board Member of that organization for seven years. She helped bring National Adoption Day to Collin County and has chaired that program for the past 2 years.

Mrs. Dietrich was twice named CCYLA Outstanding Young Lawyer of Collin County. She was also a Nomination Candidate for the 2006 Award for Distinguished and Dedicated Service to Children and Families presented by the State Bar Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. Mrs. Dietrich has also been a speaker for various programs and organizations, including the Collin County Children’s Advocacy Center Educator’s Conference 2009, the Community Group for Adolescents: Coping With Adolescence, the Collin County DA’s Citizen Prosecutor Academy, and multiple internal training sessions for CPS and CASA.