District Attorney Jeff Reisig will step down as Yolo County’s top prosecutor next week.
In a short letter sent to Yolo County supervisors Tuesday, Reisig wrote his last day will be May 15, and that he looks forward to spending more time with his family.
“I am grateful for the opportunity I have had and proud of the highly competent and dedicated team that remains,” Reisig wrote.
No reason was given for Reisig’s retirement. The DA’s office declined an interview with CapRadio.
Reisig was first elected in 2006 and subsequently reelected in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. His fifth term was set to expire in 2028 after the passage of a 2022 state law — Assembly Bill 759 — required counties to hold district attorney and sheriff elections during presidential election years.
CapRadio has reached out to Yolo County and the DA’s office about who will step in as the interim district attorney after Reisig’s departure. Melinda Aiello is listed as the Chief Deputy DA.
Reisig’s tenure
Reisig’s announcement comes about a month after his office indicted eight people in connection to last year’s deadly explosion at a fireworks facility in Esparto, including two employees of the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office.
During an April 10 news conference, Reisig said the “massive” investigation was the largest he had undertaken during his 20-year career as district attorney.
Six defendants — Kenneth Chee, Jack Lee, Gary Chan, Craig Cutright, Douglas Tollefsen and former Sheriff’s Lieutenant Samuel Machado — are scheduled to return to court June 1 for arraignment and other proceedings.
Reisig previously told the Sacramento Bee he requested the involvement of both the California Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Department of Justice in the investigation, but the requests were declined.
Reisig was also a proponent of combatting retail theft, including launching a new “FastPass to Prosecution” initiative. He was also a major supporter of Prop 36, which was passed by California voters in 2024 and imposed stiffer penalties for certain theft and drug-related crimes.
Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig being interviewed after a press conference introducing FastPass to Prosecution on March 5, 2024.Courtesy of the Yolo County District Attorney's OfficeReisig’s office also prosecuted former UC Davis student Carlos Reales Dominguez for a deadly stabbing spree in late April and early May 2023. He allegedly killed 50-year-old David Breaux and 20-year-old Karim Abou Najm and severely injured 64-year-old Kimberlee Guillory.
Dominguez was initially found incompetent to stand trial and sent to a state hospital for treatment. His first murder trial ended in a mistrial last June, and Dominguez is set to be retried this month.
Reisig graduated from UC Davis with a degree in agricultural and managerial economics, before attending law school at University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, according to his campaign website.
He worked as a lawyer in the Central Valley after graduation and joined the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office as a prosecutor in 1997.
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