New lead prosecutor in San Bernardino gang unit announced

A Fontana prosecutor has been assigned to head up the District Attorney's gang unit in San Bernardino following Cheryl Kersey's move to the Superior Court bench.

Cary Epstein was announced as the new lead prosecutor in the Hardcore Gang and Career Criminal Unit in an e-mail sent out Wednesday to everyone in the District Attorney's Office by supervisor Ben Gonzales, spokeswoman Susan Mickey confirmed today.

Epstein's exact start date was not known, "but of course is imminent," Mickey read from Gonzales' e-mail. Kersey is "effectively gone" from the District Attorney's Office as she prepares for her role as a Superior Court judge, said Mickey.

Prosecuting gang crime in San Bernardino County has been a priority for law enforcement officials here since they announced a war on gangs in May 2005.

Kersey, the former lead prosecutor in the gang unit, was elected to Superior Court judicial seat No. 10 as an unopposed candidate in a statewide primary election in June, according to the Registrar of Voters.

Neither Epstein nor Kersey could be immediately reached for comment.

Check back later for more details.