District Attorney Vern Pierson is
pleased to announce that Deputy District Attorney Worth Dikeman has been
selected by the California District Attorneys Association (CDAA) to receive the
prestigious George Williamson Career Achievement Award.
CDAA limits presentation of
this esteemed award, which is not necessarily handed out every year, to highly
skilled and respected career prosecutors who exemplify the highest standards of
the prosecutorial profession. The award
will be presented at the CDAA Summer Conference Awards Banquet in San Diego on
June 30, 2016. The Award is named for George Williamson, former Chief Deputy
Attorney General and Chief Deputy District Attorney and regarded as one of the
finest prosecutors in California history.
Deputy District Attorney
Dikeman has been a prosecutor for forty years, including the last ten years at
the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office. Prior to becoming a Deputy District Attorney,
he served as an Airborne Infantry platoon leader in Vietnam. After his time in the military, Worth put
himself through college and Law School and then worked as a prosecutor in
Contra Costa and Humboldt Counties.
Throughout his career,
Deputy District Attorney Dikeman has prosecuted virtually every type of crime
and held every position in a prosecutor’s office, including supervising sexual
assault units, law and motion units, and drug units. He has prosecuted more than 200 trials,
including 30 homicides and two death penalty cases. One such case was Curtis Floyd Price, an
assassin for the Aryan Brotherhood, who was convicted of two counts of murder
and sentenced to death after a thirteen-month long jury trial in 1983. Dikeman also prosecuted Jackie Ray Hovarter,
who was convicted and sentenced to death for abducting, raping and strangling a
young woman in Humboldt County in 1988.
Dikeman has previously been
recognized repeatedly for his tireless efforts and unwavering dedication to
justice, including being honored with the 1993 CDAA Prosecutor of the Year
Award, the 2004 Pat Mitchell Award from the Eureka Police Officer’s
Association, the 2006 Prosecutor of the Year Award from the California
Narcotics Officers’ Association, and a recognition in 2006 from the Arcata
Police Department for his service to the community. Aside from DA Pierson, two other elected
District Attorneys, a Superior Court Judge, a Deputy Attorney General, multiple
members of the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, and every current El Dorado
County Deputy District Attorney provided letters in support of Worth’s
nomination for the award.
District
Attorney Vern Pierson commented, “We have been fortunate to have Worth in our
office. He is a mentor to every member
of our office, including myself. Worth
is the epitome of the professionalism and dedication we hope to see in all
prosecutors.”