State Attorney General's Office agrees to take over Scrivner case

The state Attorney General's Office said Thursday it has agreed to review whether to file criminal charges against Kern County Supervisor Zack Scrivner because of a "potential conflict of interest" relating to the county District Attorney's Office.

The intervention stems from county DA Cynthia Zimmer being Scrivner's aunt. She became involved early on in the case, when on April 23 she contacted Sheriff Donny Youngblood directly to report Scrivner was experiencing a psychotic, possibly suicidal episode at his family's home in Tehachapi.

Youngblood told reporters April 25 that Scrivner is suspected of sexually assaulting one of his children, leading another of his kids to stab him twice in an act of sibling defense. Deputies were sent to the home, but not before Zimmer reported back to the sheriff that Scrivner had been disarmed. Scrivner received treatment at Kern Medical for non-life-threatening stab wounds but has not been taken into custody and his whereabouts have not been disclosed.

Almost immediately following Youngblood's news conference, Scrivner's attorney H.A. Sala said his client is innocent of assault and that the stabbing was an effort to get Scrivner to relinquish the firearm he was threatening to use to kill himself.

A spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta, reversing the agency's statement on the matter Friday that it would be left to the Kern DA's office to handle the case, said by email Thursday morning that it agreed to review the matter "instead of the Kern County District Attorney's office because of a potential conflict of interest."

On Wednesday afternoon, Youngblood said his office was unclear how the case will proceed but that it would be up to Bonta's office to decide whether to take the case or turn it over to another county's district attorney. Youngblood added that his office was "the only agency that has done any investigation that I'm aware of."

Sala said Thursday he looks forward to the attorney general's investigation. It's too early to comment further, he added, "but we expect the attorney general will ensure that the sheriff's office conducts a thorough and objective investigation."

Zimmer has made no public statements about the case. But on Friday, Assistant District Attorney Joseph A. Kinzel spelled out four options for how the case might proceed.

Bonta's office could choose to prosecute the case, Kinzel said, or it may simply supervise the matter with a local deputy district attorney handling day-to-day prosecution. Under that second scenario, he added, any decisions on resolution, filing of charges and other "important matters" would be made under the direct supervision of a deputy attorney general within Bonta's office.

Another option Kinzel mentioned was that a neighboring county could oversee the case. Although the Tulare County District Attorney's Office has been raised as a possibility, agency spokesman Stuart Anderson said Friday the office is "not going to have any jurisdiction in that case."

The fourth scenario Kinzel described would have involved "walling off" personnel within the Kern DA's office who have a conflict of interest, making sure they are "not permitted to participate in any decisions, or have any access or knowledge of the case."

He went on to note that a choice among the options would be made based on circumstances of the case as determined by a law enforcement investigation, along with other factors including the nature of the conflict of interest and the size and structure of the district attorney's office at issue.

“In the event that criminal charges are sought, the District Attorney’s Office is aware of, and prepared to address issues regarding conflicted personnel," Kinzel wrote. "We are actively taking steps to ensure that all decisions regarding any potential prosecution will be made in accordance with the law, and by conflict-free personnel of this, or another prosecuting agency.”

Staff writers Melanie Nguyen and John Donegan contributed to this report.