San Diego Criminal Justice Memorial
Honorees
A memorial directory honoring deceased judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys who advanced criminal justice in San Diego County.
Warren P. Reese
1929-1995
Reese died April 29, 1995 when a car struck him as he inspected his car on the shoulder of Interstate 5 near his home in Del Mar. In his over 25 years as an Assistant United States Attorney, he prosecuted offenders ranging from bank robbers, narcotics smugglers and kingpins, and white collar criminals. He had been serving as the coordinator of the Southwest Border High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area at the time of his death.
Reese was born in Los Angeles on June 8, 1929. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from UCLA, and his law degree from Loyola University. After serving in the Navy during the Korean War, Reese returned to Los Angeles in 1965 to serve in the United States Attorney’s Office under John van de Kamp and Manuel Real (later District Judge). He moved to San Diego to practice as a criminal defense attorney at Federal Defenders. In 1969, Reese began as an Assistant United States Attorney in San Diego, where he served as Harry Steward’s Chief Assistant.
Reese was assigned to prosecute C. Arnholt Smith in the lengthy bank fraud proceedings concerning the misapplication of $27.5 million from the collapsed U.S. National Bank of San Diego. Reese described Smith at the change of plea hearing as “an octopus with 100 tentacles, each sucking up money.” (LA Times 6/13/1975).
Reese was one of three prosecutors in the government’s espionage case against Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo for allegedly stealing and releasing the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times to protest the Vietnam War (LA Times 8/25/71, 4/7/73 & 4/27/73).
Reese dedicated many years to prosecuting crimes surrounding the 1985 torture and murder of Drug Enforcement Administrative Special Agent Enrique S. Camarena by members of the sophisticated drug cartel in Mexico, including drug lords, upper echelon associates, and dozens of distributors and other cohorts (LA Times, 5/29/86, SDUT 6/19/86, 11.22.86, 3/5/87, 6/23/87, 12/5/87, 7/16/88).
On his tragic death, U.S. Attorney Alan Bersin stated that “Warren’s contributions to this office have been enormous. He was a gifted lawyer and a wonderful person.” Reese maintained an active lifestyle outside of work, including rock climbing, playing classical and improvisational jazz on the piano, and woodworking. He was an avid surfer and built wood surfboards for himself and his son Peter (SDUT 5/3/95).