NEW FEDERAL PROSECUTOR ASSIGNED TO GANG CRIMES

U.S. Attorney Tom Moss, the Treasure Valley Partnership and Canyon County Prosecuting Attorney John Bujak announced today that a new deputy prosecuting attorney has been hired to prosecute gang crimes. The deputy prosecutor has been sworn in as a Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA). Justin D. Whatcott will work out of the United States Attorney’s Office and will be responsible for helping to federally prosecute gang offenses that occur in the Treasure Valley. He replaces Christian Nafzger who was hired as a full-time Assistant United States Attorney.

The SAUSA works in conjunction with crime task forces to eliminate gang crime. Gang members convicted in federal court will be jailed in federal prisons outside of Idaho, which acts as an additional disincentive to current and potential gang members.

The SAUSA program was created in 2007 by the Treasure Valley Partnership in cooperation with the State of Idaho, Owyhee County and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The Treasure Valley Partnership, a coalition of local officials, provides about $75,000 for salary and benefits. The State of Idaho through the Idaho State Police has committed another $25,000 to fund the SAUSA project. The SAUSA will now be a Canyon County deputy prosecutor. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will be lending its prosecution authority to the SAUSA and will provide an office and related overhead expenses, as well as contributing on behalf of the federal government the financial resources of federal trials and federal incarcerations. Thus, this is collaboration in mission as well as in financial contributions.

U.S. Attorney Tom Moss commended the cooperative agreement and good working relationship over the past two years. “The SAUSA program is a showcase of the good that can happen when governments work together to solve a problem. It will send a clear signal that gang-related crime will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Canyon County Prosecutor John Bujak said he looks forward to the addition of a deputy prosecutor who will specifically focus on prosecuting gang related crimes at the federal level. “The SAUSA program provides an invaluable resource for prosecuting gang members and removing them from the state of Idaho. When convicted and sentenced federally, gang members are incarcerated outside of the state and are unable to maintain their gang connections. The result is that the leadership structure of gangs is weakened or destroyed. Canyon County looks forward to working cooperatively with local, state and federal law enforcement to achieve this goal.”

During the two years of the SAUSA program, 85 defendants have been charged in federal court with felony offenses related to gang activity. To date, 37 defendants have been found guilty and sentenced to over 103 years in federal prisons. The cases are investigated by Metro Task Force and brought to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution. Moss and Bujak acknowledged the cooperation of all the federal and state agencies cooperating in reducing gang violence, including: ATF, FBI, ICE, DEA, U.S. Marshals, Idaho State Police, Idaho Department of Corrections, Ada County, Canyon County, Owyhee and Gem Counties, Boise City Police Department, Caldwell Police Department, Nampa Police Department, and Meridian Police Department.