CA National Guard attorneys to begin prosecuting criminal cases in Alameda Co.

ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced a "swiftly" finalized agreement to allow California National Guard lawyers to prosecute crimes in Alameda County.

Newsom said the memorandum of understanding between the National Guard and California Department of Justice took only two weeks to finalize, compared to the unsuccessful "nearly five-month attempt to formalize a similar agreement" with Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.

The announcement, which repeatedly emphasizes how quickly the agreement was reached, appears to be another salvo in the ongoing back-and-forth between Newsom and Price regarding his efforts to increase arrests and prosecutions in Alameda County.

"Today we're advancing accountability and justice for East Bay communities, by quickly securing an agreement to provide additional resources to prosecute criminal behavior," Newsom said in a news release. "I am grateful for the quick work here by the Attorney General and the California National Guard to swiftly finalize this agreement so these talented attorneys can soon help secure justice for the people of the Bay Area."

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The seeds of discontent were sown in February, when Newsom offered to send lawyers to help prosecute certain violent, drug and property crimes, along with a "surge" of California Highway Patrol officers to make arrests in the county.

At the time, Price said she welcomed the help, but on July 11 Newsom publicly rebuked the District Attorney's Office for allegedly dragging its feet on an agreement that would allow the National Guard lawyers to get to work and rescinded his offer.

Price said the governor didn't reach out to her directly before issuing his statement, didn't acknowledge the work her office did to get the plan off the ground and was misinformed about the resources her office was putting into the project.

On Friday, Price again said she welcomed state assistance, but also said that Newsom's much-touted CHP "surge" has only resulted in 11 criminal cases being referred to her office for prosecution.

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"We hope the swift agreement reached between the DOJ and CalGuard yields equally swift results, and my office is willing to assist in that effort in any way possible," Price said in a news release.

"To the extent that there have been a large number of arrests related to CHP surge operations, our records do not reflect those cases being referred to this office for prosecution by either the CHP or the DOJ," she said.

Newsom's office said that in the first six months of the surge, 562 suspects were arrested, 1,142 stolen cars were recovered and 55 guns connected to crimes were taken off the street.