“DA Investigator Chosen for Prestigious Award”
Amador County District Attorney Investigator Gary Stevens has been chosen by the California District Attorneys Association to receive its Investigator of the Year award for 2014. Stevens was selected in recognition of his work handling complex investigations for the office highlighted by his outstanding effort as the lead investigator in the Justin Bergo murder case in Sutter Creek.
Stevens has been a peace officer for 24 years, the last 7 as a DA Investigator in Amador County. He is assigned to the General Criminal division where he works closely with the Deputy District Attorneys, handling many of the toughest cases in the office. As Amador County is a rural county, Stevens is called upon at times to provide assistance to the city police departments. Seeing a need, he sought and obtained certification as one of the county’s two fingerprint examiners, thus reducing the waiting period for criminal cases to be filed.
Stevens’ work in the Justin Bergo case placed his ability and professional dedication to his craft on full display. On March 14, 2011, Stevens was called upon to assist the Sutter Creek Police Department in a murder that occurred at the Days Inn. As a seasoned crime scene investigator, Stevens processed the grisly scene. Delores Bergo was found in a room with more than two dozen stab wounds on her body. Stevens documented the scene, preserved the evidence, and began a close working relationship with the assigned prosecutors in what would become a two and a half year murder investigation.
The evidence gathered showed that Justin Bergo had attacked his mother while she slept, leaving a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door that delayed detection of his crime allowing him to reach Cuba before his mother’s body was discovered. As lead investigator on the case, and with the assistance of his fellow DA Investigators, Stevens coordinated witness interviews, gathered evidence, and tracked the movements of Bergo. Within a week, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, Bergo was located entering Mexico from Cuba under an assumed name, apprehended at the Tijuana Airport, handed over to US authorities, and booked into a San Diego jail for murder.
Stevens located Bergo’s vehicle at the Tijuana Airport, processed it for evidence and had it transported back to Amador County. He obtained valuable evidence tying Bergo to his mother’s murder and illuminating a timeline for his attempted escape.
For two years following Bergo’s arrest, Stevens doggedly continued to build a case against him. Several veteran California prosecutors consulted on the case expressed doubt that a guilty verdict could be achieved given the nature of the circumstantial evidence against Bergo. Stevens refused to give up, turning over every stone to obtain the evidence that Deputy District Attorney Robert Trudgen needed to prove his case. On October 8, 2013, after a six week trial, Justin Bergo was found guilty of murdering his mother and was sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole. In nominating Stevens for the prestigious award, District Attorney Todd Riebe called his effort in the Bergo case, “[O]ne of the finest examples of investigative work I have seen in my 23 years practicing criminal law.”
Stevens will be recognized by CDAA for his career achievement on June 26th at an awards banquet held during their upcoming Summer conference.
CONTACT: Todd D. Riebe, District Attorney (209) 223-6453
