Current Modoc County District Attorney faces challenger in re-election bid

ALTURAS, Calif. — Modoc County Sheriff Mike Poindexter and their District Attorney Jordan Funk have butted heads over recent years and those tensions could be a deciding factor for voters in the June 5 election.

Poindexter won't be on the ballot this year but both his undersheriff and the current DA will be.

However, Funk has a challenger named Samuel Kyllo, a defense attorney in Modoc County.

Kyllo said it's time for a change at the Modoc county district attorneys office.

"I think we have a problem in Modoc County with the way we handle the criminal justice system as a whole and so I'm running to change those fundamental ways," said Kyllo.

Funk says he wants to finish the work he's started during his time in office.

"I came in replacing the prior DA. I served out his term, I ran unopposed and it just makes sense to serve another term. I'd like to finish off some of the big cases we have," said Funk.

Funk hopes to focus on getting tougher penalties for the cases they prosecute.

"I think the community wants judges who sentence in a court with the values of the community so I think our sentencing needs to be firmer and we're trying to move our judges in the direction of seeing that firmer sentencing is warranted," said Funk.

While Kyllo wants to focus the office's energy on the worst of the worst.

"As far as criminal prosecution, we're going to focus our efforts on violent offenders and repeat offenders," said Kyllo.

With the public feud between Sheriff Poindexter and the current Funk, Kyllo said he believes he can build a relationship with law enforcement.

"Right now, there's not any trust between law enforcement and the district attorney and if you don't have trust and you're working together, then cases aren't prosecuted effectively," said Kyllo.

Funk said his history with the sheriff's office shows his commitment to his principles.

"The last four years have been fractious and difficult because I've had to battle my sheriff on some matters where some really important principles were at stake. I don't anticipate having that problem in the next four years because we're going to be getting a new sheriff either way," said Funk.