About the Office

Lisa Okinaka Lyytikainen

Chief Assistant District Attorney

Ms. Lyytikainen joined the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office in 1996. She began her career prosecuting misdemeanor cases. She then moved to assignments in the general felonies, gang crimes, domestic violence, and sexual assault units. From 2002 to 2004, she supervised the Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse units and was a member of the California District Attorney’s Association Sexual Assault committee, as well as the Ventura County Sexual Assault task force. In 2005, Ms. Lyytikainen returned to trial work where she again focused on sexual assault crimes and child abuse cases.

In 2007, Ms. Lyytikainen joined the Writs, Appeals and Training Unit where she handled cases in Superior Court, Federal Court, the Court of Appeal, and successfully argued before the California Supreme Court in the matter of People v. Calvin Sharp. In this assignment she was also responsible for the office’s continuing education, new attorney and post-bar law clerk training programs. In addition to training internal staff, Ms. Lyytikainen became a POST certified basic academy instructor. She was a regular instructor for the Ventura Criminal Justice Training Center beginning in 2007, where she taught Evidence, Search and Seizure and Courtroom Demeanor to hundreds of law enforcement recruits. She served in this capacity until February 2021.

Ms. Lyytikainen was named to the prosecution Team of the Year in 2012 for her appellate work during the prosecution of Calvin Sharp for the brutal murder of a six-year-old boy. In 2016, she was named Prosecutor of the Year for her leadership in both the office and the courtroom.

In February 2021, Ms. Lyytikainen was appointed Chief Assistant District Attorney. In this role, she oversees the daily operations of the office and serves as second-in-command to the District Attorney.

Ms. Lyytikainen received her undergraduate degree in 1988 from the University of Southern California, her Juris Doctorate degree in 1995 and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice in 2021.

Special Prosecutions

Kevin B. Drescher

Chief Deputy District Attorney

Kevin Drescher is a sixth-generation Californian, born and raised in Ventura. Mr. Drescher received his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Thematic Minor in “Mexico Today” from Colorado College in 1991. At Colorado College he was a two-time Team Captain and MVP of the baseball team. In 1994, he received his Juris Doctorate from Pepperdine University School of Law and was admitted to the California State Bar. He was subsequently admitted to the Colorado State Bar in 1997.

Mr. Drescher joined the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office in 1994 and has been assigned to misdemeanors; domestic violence cases; writs, appeals and training; major crimes; general felonies, serious and violent, and auto insurance fraud. Mr. Drescher handled and tried some of the most serious cases in the office, from capital murder to vehicular manslaughter. In 2000, he was promoted to the position of Senior Attorney. In 2007, he was presented with the Ellie Liston Crime Victims Assistance Award. In April 2008, Mr. Drescher was promoted to Supervising Senior Deputy District Attorney. He has supervised the Major Fraud Unit, the General Felony Unit, and the Court Operations Unit.

Mr. Drescher was promoted to Chief Deputy District Attorney in August 2019. He oversees Special Prosecutions, which handles a variety of offenses including insurance fraud, high-tech and real estate fraud, asset forfeiture, child abduction and recovery, consumer and environmental protection, as well as the Juvenile Unit.

Criminal Prosecutions

Paul Nuñez

Chief Deputy District Attorney

Paul Nuñez graduated from Stanford University in 1992 and earned his Juris Doctorate from UCLA School of Law in 1995.

Upon admittance to the California State Bar, Mr. Nuñez joined the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. While there, he held management positions in the Hardcore Gang Division and in the East Los Angeles office. In the gang division, Mr. Nuñez oversaw a team of trial attorneys handling murder prosecutions.

As a trial attorney, Mr. Nuñez has prosecuted gang members in special circumstance murder cases and tried 26 homicides to verdict. He also served in the Justice System Integrity Division and was a member of the officer-involved shooting response team. In 2012, Mr. Nuñez successfully prosecuted People v. Stephanie Lazarus, a 1986 cold case murder.

In April 2021, Mr. Nuñez joined the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office as Chief Deputy District Attorney of the Criminal Prosecutions Division. Mr. Nuñez oversees several units including General Felonies, Homicides, Gangs, Narcotics, and Public Integrity. He represents the office as vice-chair of the County’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council.

Bureau of Investigations

Scott Whitney

Chief Investigator

Scott Whitney joined the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office on September 13, 2022, to lead the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation. He previously served as police chief of Oxnard, Ventura County’s largest city, where he was a champion of community policing and neighborhood engagement. A Ventura County native who graduated from Oxnard High School, Chief Whitney attended the University of Oregon on a football scholarship. As a scholar athlete, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Finance and Accounting. He holds a Master of Public Administration from California State University Northridge.

In addition to serving as police chief from 2016 to 2020, Chief Whitney has a long track record of public service to Oxnard and its residents, including leadership roles as an assistant city manager and an interim city manager, where he oversaw complex budgets and managed multiple city departments. His nearly five years as police chief were marked by significant reductions in crime, and new partnerships with community organizations, including neighborhood councils, faith-based groups, and school officials.

In his 31 years with the Oxnard Police Department, Chief Whitney served in a wide array of leadership roles. He led all three department bureaus, including Investigations, Administration and Patrol Services. As a commander, he ran the Special Operations Division, which included the SWAT Team, the Violent Crimes Task Force, the Special Enforcement Unit, as well as the K9 Unit and Firearms Training. Whitney was an advocate for vulnerable populations and was instrumental in initiating programs to de-escalate police-civilian encounters. He was one of the founders of the Ventura County Crisis Intervention Team (CIT).

The Bureau of Investigation has 57 sworn peace officers and 12 civilian personnel that serve within three divisions. The Major Crimes Division provides investigative support for prosecutors before and during jury trials. The Major Fraud Division has specially trained investigators that conduct complex financial crimes investigations, including fraud and money laundering. The Administrative Division includes investigators that provide highly technical, forensic technology services for all Ventura County law enforcement agencies.