Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: 03/23/05

Contact person(s):

Media Coordinator, Donna Edwards - 565-3099 Media Spokesperson, District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua

Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California

ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY GREG JACOBS
ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

Sonoma County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua announced today that Assistant District Attorney Greg Jacobs is retiring effective July 18. He will be leaving the office the same day that he became a Deputy District Attorney 31 years ago.

During his career as a Sonoma County prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Jacobs successfully handled many serious cases, including two death penalty murder trials. In 1996 he convicted Richard Allen Davis of the kidnap and murder of twelve-year-old Polly Klaas, and obtained a verdict of death for Davis. The Davis case was the catalyst for the passage of the Three Strikes Law. Jacobs also served as president of the Sonoma County Prosecutor’s Association, and as the chair of the board of the Sonoma County Administration Council. In October of 2004, the National District Attorneys Association inducted Jacobs into the Home Run Hitters Club, an award given to prosecutors throughout the nation for their outstanding work in prosecuting complex high profile cases.

Jacobs holds the record for the longest tenure as a Sonoma County prosecutor -- thirty one years of public service under four elected District Attorneys: John Hawkes, Gene L. Tunney, Mike Mullins, and current District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua. Jacobs became the County’s first Chief Deputy District Attorney when he was appointed to that position in 1988 and was promoted to Assistant District Attorney in 1995. In 2002, he became Chief of the District Attorney’s first Homicide Unit under his fourth District Attorney, Stephan Passalacqua.

Assistant District Attorney Jacobs worked briefly for the local law firm of Geary, Shea, Pawson, and O’Donnell before becoming a prosecutor. Jacobs helped form the Sonoma County Domestic Violence Death Review Team, and the Teen Sexual Violence Initiative. He has served as chair of the Sonoma County Child Death Review Team since 1996, and is presently on the Sonoma County Teen Motor Vehicle Safety Committee. He has always had a strong interest in working on ways to reduce injuries to the children of Sonoma County.

District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua said, “Greg Jacobs has served our community well as an outstanding career prosecutor.” Jacobs said that his decision to retire was very hard to make, that he would “miss working with a great bunch of dedicated public servants.” He plans to spend more time traveling with his family and continue to pursue his hobbies of fishing and playing the trumpet.