Press release from Fleming’s office:

On March 20, Humboldt County District Attorney Maggie Fleming announced the hiring of three new deputy District Attorneys: Trenton Timm of Scotia; Moksha Chattopadhya of San Jose; and Whitney Barnes of Moreno Valley. All have joined the D.A.’s office this month and all will initially handle misdemeanor cases. Former Humboldt State University Police Chief Lynne Soderberg has also recently joined the DA’s Office as an investigator.

The three new Deputy DA’s reflect District Attorney Maggie Fleming’s commitment to increasing the capacity of the DA’s Office. “Our new DDA’s were carefully selected by a team of experienced prosecutors and are currently undergoing a training process. They have already given us reasons to be very optimistic about their futures as Humboldt County prosecutors.” The additions of Mr. Timm, Ms. Chattopadhaya and Ms. Barnes filled vacant positions in the DA’s Office. DA Fleming is seeking to fill additional existing positions, including those previously frozen by the County, in part with Measure Z funding.

Lynne Soderberg brings years of experience and accomplishment in law enforcement with both Humboldt State and the Eureka Police Departments to the DA’s Office. She will focus on domestic violence cases as a DA Investigator. “I greatly appreciate Ms. Soderberg’s outstanding record of public service and her willingness to bring her knowledge and ability to the DA’s Office.”