DA Mike Schmidt Announces Kick Off Of Organized Retail Theft & Auto Theft Task Forces -07/12/23
In a media briefing yesterday, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt announced that the new cross-jurisdictional task forces to address organized retail theft and auto theft are officially underway, effective as of July 1. Deputy DA Theresa Turner will lead the organized retail theft task force and Deputy DA Cody Linderholm will lead the auto theft task force.
“Thanks to funding from Multnomah County and the City of Portland, we now have dedicated resources to work hand-in-hand with law enforcement on tackling auto theft and organized retail theft,” said DA Schmidt. “Our deputy DAs have already hit the ground running and are putting plans in place to see measurable improvement in these two critical areas of public safety.”
Deputy DA Turner will be stationed at PPB East Precinct and will work on improved strategies to address the most prolific retail theft offenders, training on loss reduction and investigative work, and case preparation. As part of this task force, DA Turner is building a committee of representatives from large and small retailers to inform this work.
Deputy DA Linderholm will also be stationed at PPB East Precinct and will work on improved investigations, case preparation, law enforcement training, prosecutions, and community outreach aimed at vehicle theft prevention.
The DA’s Office will provide periodic updates on the progress of these two task forces.
Theresa Turner joined the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office (MCDA) as a Deputy District Attorney in June 2021. She has worked as a prosecutor in the misdemeanor trial unit, the pretrial unit, and most recently in the property crimes unit, where she has worked on a wide range of cases, including retail theft, counterfeiting, identity theft, and embezzlement. Prior to MCDA, she worked as a Certified Law Student at the Columbia County District Attorney’s Office. Theresa was raised in Federal Way, Washington and attended school at Eastern Washington University and later Lewis & Clark Law School. Theresa enjoys working with and helping students enrolled in AVID and TRIO programs, which are educational opportunity outreach programs designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Cody Linderholm joined MCDA as a Deputy District Attorney in June 2020. He has worked as a misdemeanor trial unit and pretrial unit prosecutor, an East County Deputy DA in Gresham, and most recently as a prosecutor in the property crimes unit. Cody has broad experience in prosecuting drug crimes and stolen car cases. Prior to becoming a prosecutor, Cody worked as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Cheryl Albrecht in the Multnomah County Circuit Court. Originally from Colorado, Cody has spent the last 10 years in Oregon and graduated from Willamette University College of Law in 2019.
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