MARTINEZ — Just three weeks after she helped secure a six-year prison term for a now former Contra Costa deputy convicted of assault in a fatal shooting, longtime prosecutor Colleen Gleason has been made a superior court judge.
Gleason, a deputy district attorney in Contra Costa since 2002, was appointed March 25 by Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to a news release from Newsom’s office. She is to replace retiring Judge Cheryl Mills.
In her 20 years at the District Attorney’s office, Gleason prosecuted a range of cases, including recent stints in the sexual assault and homicide units. Her final case was the prosecution of Andrew Hall, a Contra Costa deputy who fatally shot two people in Danville within a three-year span.
Last year, just weeks after Hall shot and killed 32-year-old Tyrell Wilson in Danville, county prosecutors charged him with manslaughter and assault with a firearm in the 2018 shooting death of Laudemer Arboleda. Hall shot and killed Arboleda during a slow speed police chase through Danville, while backing out of the way of Arboleda’s oncoming car.
Hall’s attorneys argued the shooting was lawful self-defense. Jurors couldn’t reach a verdict on the manslaughter count but convicted Hall of assault with gun enhancements.
Judge Terri Mockler sentenced Hall to six years in state prison on March 4, but he has remained in the Contra Costa County Jail system ever since
Gleason prosecuted the case alongside Chris Walpole, a high-ranking member of the DA’s office who lives on the East Coast. Gleason took the lead on the trial, giving opening statements and closing arguments to the jury.
Gleason’s boss, Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton, is one of 18 people who make up the Bay Area’s Judicial Selection Advisory Committee, which recommends potential judges to the governor’s office.
A Lafayette resident, Gleason spent a year as a clerk at the San Diego City Attorney’s Office after graduating from law school in San Diego, then came to the Contra Costa DA’s office.
Other notable judicial appointments around the state include Andi Mudryk, the first openly transgender judge to serve, who was appointed to the Sacramento Superior Court.
Source: www.mercurynews.com