The State - News from March 30, 1988

A recall campaign erupted into a fistfight outside a courthouse between Del Norte County’s district attorney and a former deputy prosecutor trying to oust his ex-boss, police said. The altercation was sparked by the second recall effort in recent weeks to shake Crescent City, a coastal community 20 miles south of the Oregon border. The fight broke out as Dist. Atty. Douglas G. Nareau walked toward the courthouse and met former assistant district attorney Tom Gerin, who had recall petitions in his hand. The two tangled in front of a small crowd until they were separated by a sheriff’s deputy. Both suffered bloody noses and bruises. The fight prompted local police to ask the state attorney general to press charges, since the county’s chief law enforcement officer was involved in the donnybrook.