5. Allison Stafford,
Specialist, US Army, 1991-1995
Allison Stafford is the Supervisory Victim Witness
Specialist for the US Attorney’s Office in the Central
District of California. She has worked as a crime
victim advocate since 2001. Currently she assists
federal crime victims and their families as their
case proceeds through the Federal court
system. She provides notifications, referrals, direct
services, federal crime victim assistance funding
and court accompaniment.
She received her Master of Social Work degree
from Washington University in St. Louis in 2003 and
became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in
2008. She has also been trained by the National
Organization of Victim Assistance as a Crisis
Response Team Member.
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6. James A. Santiago,
Lt. Commander, US Navy, 2001-2011
James A. Santiago is an AUSA in the United States
Attorney's Office in the Central District of California. He
joined the office in March 2020 and is currently in the
International Narcotics, Money Laundering &
Racketeering Section. Prior to becoming a federal
prosecutor, he was an associate for five years at Gibson,
Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
"Jimmy" callsign "DIRTY" served on active duty in the
United States Navy for ten years, flying F/A-18F Super
Hornets and S-3B Vikings from aircraft carriers, making
three deployments in support of Operations Iraqi
Freedom and Enduring Freedom. He has more than 400
carrier landings, flying more than 50 combat missions.
He is a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School
and the United States Naval Academy with a degree in
aerospace engineering.
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7. Keith Ellison,
US Army, Special Forces
Keith Ellison is an AUSA in the United States Attorney’s
Office for the Central District of California. He joined the
Office in 2018 and is currently assigned to the
International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and
Racketeering Section, where he prosecutes international
money laundering organizations, unlicensed money
services businesses, and racketeering enterprises.
Keith served fifteen years with the U.S. Army both on
active duty as a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces
and with the California National Guard. His service
included four combat tours in Iraq and he is a recipient of
the Bronze Star Medal for exceptionally meritorious
service during combat operations.
He is a graduate of San Diego State University and UC
Irvine Law School.
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8. Peter Dahlquist,
Lt. Commander, US Navy, 2014-2018
Peter “Pete” Dahlquist is an AUSA at the Riverside
Branch of United States Attorney’s Office for Central
District of California. He left active duty in 2018 to join
the office.
Pete currently serves with the US Navy Reserves as a
Staff Attorney with the unit that supports US Navy
Special Warfare teams.
Pete earned a Master's degree from U.S. Naval War
College in National Security and Strategic Defense in
2021.
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9. L’Tanja Mahone,
Master Sergeant, US Army, 1995-2019
L’Tanja Mahone is a Victim Witness Specialist in the United
States Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California.
She joined the office in October 2020 as a Paralegal Specialist
assigned to Financial Litigation Section in the Civil Division.
She enlisted in the United States Army in 1995 and went to
basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. She served on
active duty for 24 years, retiring in 2019 as a Master Sergeant.
She had multiple deployments in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom and Operation New Dawn in 2006, 2009 and 2012,
with the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and 3rd Brigade
3rd Infantry Division.
She received her B.S. in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College,
Master of Social Work from the University of Oklahoma and
Certification in Applied Behavior Analysis from California
State University San Marcos.
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10. Martha E. Gonzalez,
Sergeant, US Army Reserve, 2001-2009
Martha E. Gonzalez is an Information Technology
specialist in the United States Attorney’s Office in the
Central District of California. She joined the office in
February 2015 as a Docket clerk in the Criminal
Division.
She enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 2001
and was in bootcamp at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina
during 9/11. She served in the Reserve for 8 years,
leaving the service in 2009 as a Sergeant. She was
deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom
and Enduring Freedom from 2003-2004, where her
Quartermaster company was attached to the 101st
Airborne Division.
She graduated from California State University Los
Angeles with a Bachelor of Science degree in
Mathematics.
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11. Martin Jones,
Gunnery Sergeant, US Marine Corps., 1982-1995
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Martin “Marty” Jones is the Systems Manager at United States
Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Marty joined the United States Marine Corps straight out of High School.
After Basic training in Parris Island, South Carolina this New York kid
found himself in sunny California at Camp Pendleton. Trained as a Legal
Service Specialist, Marty was assigned to the Staff Judge Advocates (SJA)
1st Forces Service Support Group where he learned the basics of a
“Legal Beagle”. While on active duty, he served at MCRD San Diego,
Okinawa, Japan, MCAS El Toro, Desert Storm 1, NAS Norfolk, Virginia
with brief stops in Roda, Spain and Naples, Italy. Gunnery Sergeant
Jones has earned the:
Navy Commendation Medal,
Navy Achievement Medal with 2 gold stars,
Marine Unit Citation,
Good Conduct 3rd Award,
National Defense Service Medal,
Southwest Asia Service Medal,
Saudi Arabia Liberation Of Kuwait Medal,
Kuwaiti Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait, and
Overseas Service Medal with star.
12. Melissa Mills,
Captain, US Marine Corps., 2002-2006
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Melissa Mills is a partner at Wilson Sonsini specializing in complex
litigation and investigations. She spent twelve years as an AUSA in
the Central District of California, where she prosecuted complex
public corruption and national security cases.
As an active-duty officer, Melissa was stationed in Quantico, Camp
Pendleton, and Fallujah, Iraq prosecuting and defending numerous
criminal cases. During a seven-month deployment to Iraq, she
traveled throughout the war theater to investigate and, for the first
time since the Vietnam War, to prosecute crimes in a combat
theater one of which was interrupted by incoming rocket fire.
Before joining the Marine Corps, she worked as a prosecutor at the
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, where she
investigated and prosecuted the genocide of Bosnian Muslims in the
Srebrenica massacres.
She is a graduate of Columbia Law School and the State University of
New York at Binghamton.
13. Mitch Suliman,
Major, US Army, 2008-Present
Mitch Suliman is an AUSA in the Riverside Branch office. He
joined the US Attorney’s Office in July 2022.
After graduating from the United States Military Academy in
2008, Mitch commissioned as an officer in the US Army and
deployed as an intelligence officer and platoon leader in
support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 08-09 (Taji, Iraq) and
Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan, 10-11 (Mazar-e
Sharif, Kunduz, and Shindand, Afghanistan).
Following his deployments, Mitch attended and graduated
from UC Davis School of Law, King Hall in 2014 and then
served in the active-duty US Army JAG Corps from 2014 to
2022, where he served as a prosecutor, a defense counsel,
and a special victim’s prosecutor at different Army posts.
Mitch currently serves as a Major in the US Army Reserve
150th Legal Operations Detachment, Judicial Operations
Support Team.
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14. Charles E. Pell,
Lieutenant, US Navy Reserves, 2001-2010
Charles E. Pell is an AUSA in the Santa Ana Branch Office.
He joined the office in August 2008, after several years as
a prosecutor with DOJ-Tax in Washington DC.
He received his commission in the United States Naval
Reserve in 2001 and served as an Intelligence Officer until
2010, completing his service as a Lieutenant.
In 2007, Charles served on active duty, including working
on several matters involving theft of U.S. Naval
technology by the People’s Republic of China.
He is a third-generation member of the Navy, after his
grandfather who served 25 years, retiring as a Master
Chief, and his father who served as an enlisted Electronics
Technician.
Charles received his J.D. from USC Law.
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15. Mark Takla,
Lieutenant, US Navy, 2004-2010
Mark Takla is an AUSA in the US Attorney’s Office for the
Central District of California. He joined the office in July
2008 and currently serves as a Deputy Chief in the
Terrorism and Export Crimes Section.
Prior to joining the office, he served for almost six years
on active duty in the United States Navy’s Judge Advocate
General’s Corps. He has also served in the Navy Reserve
for the last 14 years. Mark has deployments to
Afghanistan and East Africa in support of Operation
Enduring Freedom. Mark’s Navy assignments include
United States Pacific Fleet, the Defense Institute of
International Legal Studies, SEAL Teams Ten and
Seventeen, the United States Naval Academy, the Office
of the Judge Advocate General, Region Legal Services
Offices, and Defense Service Officers.
He is a graduate of UCLA School of Law and UC Irvine.
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16. Travis Walter,
Senior Airman, US Air Force, 2008-2016
Travis is currently an Information Technology
Specialist with the US Attorney’s Office for the Central
District of California. He joined the Office in 2022.
While on Active Duty, Travis was an 2A6X2 Aerospace
Ground Equipment Mechanic. He deployed twice into
combat supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and
Operation Continuing Freedom. During Travis’ last
deployment to Camp Winooski in Diyarbakir, Turkey
with the 55th Rescue Squadron nicknamed “Jolly
Green Giants” he assisted in saving over 60 soldiers
that were injured in his unit’s area of responsibility.
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17. Office Alumni
Edward Han, Captain, US Air Force Reserve
Edward Han is a lecturer at UCLA School of Law, teaching legal
writing to first-year law students and assisting with the
Supreme Court Simulation course.
Previously, he was an AUSA at the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for
the Central District of California and the District of New
Mexico. He successfully tried numerous cases before juries
and argued before the U.S. Courts of Appeals.
Ed currently serves in the US Air Force Reserve, in the Judge
Advocate General’s Corps and is stationed at Travis Air Force
Base in California.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of
Pennsylvania and his law degree from the New York
University School of Law. He worked at the Equal Justice
Initiative in law school, representing a death row inmate in
Alabama. Before his career in law, he taught third grade in
inner-city Philadelphia.
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18. Office Alumni
Christopher Grigg, US Army, 1997-2001
Chris was an AUSA at the US Attorney’s Office for the
Central District of California joining the office in 2007.
During his 15-year tenure, Chris served as Chief,
National Security Division, Chief, Terrorism and Export
Crimes Section, and Deputy Chief, Terrorism and
Export Crimes Section.
While his classmates prepared for the bar exam, Chris
joined the military, where he was the distinguished
honor graduate at the US Army’s Ranger School
receiving the William O. Darby Award. He then served
as a team leader in the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment
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19. Office Alumni
Hon. Kevin Rosenberg US Navy, 1995-2000
Judge Rosenberg was a Deputy Chief in the Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force at the US Attorney’s Office for
the Central District of California from 2007 to 2014. He then
moved to private practice before his appointment to the
California Superior Court bench in 2016.
From 1995 to 2000, Judge Rosenberg served in the United
States Navy, Judge Advocate General’s Office where he was a
legal assistance attorney and defense counsel in the Trial
Service Office and Naval Legal Service Office Pacific, and
Appellate government counsel in the Navy-Marine Corps
Appellate Review Activity.
Currently, he is the Assistant Supervising Judge of Limited
Jurisdiction Courts in the Los Angeles County Superior Court’s
(LASC) Criminal Division and sits at the Foltz Criminal Justice
Center.
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23. Thank You
USAO Military & Veterans Committee;
USAO Diversity Committee;
FAUSA Joe McNally;
Roger Hseih and Damaris Diaz;
Armen Y. Abrahamian;
Richard Bernales;
Susan Gearin (Envir. Crimes), and
local Bar associations for your support!
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