Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni Appoints Matthew L’Heureux to Assistant District Attorney

 

SALINAS, California - Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced on October 15

the appointment of Matthew L’Heureux to the position of Assistant District Attorney.

Matthew L’Heureux was raised in San Diego, California. He received a Bachelor of Arts in

Literature/Writing from the University of California, San Diego. He attended law school at University of

California College of the Law, San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings College of the Law) where he

earned his Juris Doctor with a concentration in criminal law.

L’Heureux has worked as a Deputy District Attorney with Monterey County since August of 2012.

While he has held a variety of meaningful assignments over his 12 years with the office, his proudest

achievement to date has been assisting with the creation and implementation of the Monterey County

District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Task Force in 2020, which represents the most comprehensive

effort of county law-enforcement agencies to collaboratively re-open and investigate cold-case

homicides. L’Heureux was a member of the prosecution teams that successfully convicted Alfred

Powell for the 1982 murder of Sandra Steppuhn of Seaside; Charles Allen Holifield for the 1998

kidnapping and murder of 13-year-old Christina Marie Williams of Seaside; Anthony Martezz Randall

for the 1995 murder of Lloyd Perkins, Jr. of Seaside; Michael Scott Glazebrook for the 1981 sexual

assault and murder of Sonia Herok-Stone of Carmel; and Jimmy Torres Rodriguez for the 1999 murder

of Elias Gutierrez Diaz of Salinas.

In 2022, L’Heureux received the “Prosecutor of the Year” award from the California District

Attorney Investigators’ Association. He has taught a variety of courses to attorneys, law students and

police agencies on topics including legal writing and research, trial advocacy, opening statements and

closing arguments, appellate advocacy, report writing/courtroom testimony, the stages of criminal

prosecution, conditional examinations, and how to prevent against elder abuse.

L’Heureux is a welcome addition to the District Attorney’s management team which consists of

Chief Assistant District Attorney Berkley Brannon, Assistant District Attorneys Marisol Mendez, Lana

Nassoura, and Greg Peterson. He will begin his new position on October 19 and will supervise our

felony team and continue to oversee the Cold Case Task Force.