Douglas Irwin Matheson

Doug was the Deputy DA for our case against a "professional con-man." We were two people who were conned by the man. Doug represented my case, as well as for the State for the fraud the man had committed, and brought in a second party from another county (for "we" I refer to) who was also a victim of... assault (choking) from the man. Doug was really there for us -- and still years later, when the criminal was stalking me after his No-Contact orders expired. Doug understood and sympathized with our needs as victims of crime and was thorough and responsive in both updating and getting back to us. We never felt that we weren't a priority to him. The criminal was convicted to prison, though my only complaint is that the judge only sentenced him to 3 months for a psych eval, because -- as I kept hearing from law enforcement -- "the prisons are full" and he didn't quite fit the "violent" criminal status; and that the Monterey Jail "accidentally released him" when he was first arrested, and we had to lure him out of hiding. It seems he was released after 3 months in prison, and has definitely been repeating his crimes, mostly against women. Of course, he had a record before our experiences too, most likely committing crimes and conning for 10-15 years before our cases. The justice system may not be as fair and effective as we'd like (both ways), but we're thankful Doug was there to help us navigate through it. So, thanks again Doug. You probably don't get enough recognition for your work, so here's some. :-)