2 High-Level D.A.’s Office Executives Retiring : Openings: They will make three key officials to leave since December. Dist. Atty. Capizzi will have a chance to make his own appointments to top jobs.

Two longtime, high-level executives in the Orange County district attorney’s office have announced their retirement, which will result in the most sweeping changes in the office’s top management in 25 years.

Assistant Dist. Atty. Edgar A. Freeman, an adversary of Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi who ran against him in the June primary, and Edward J. Merrilees, a Capizzi supporter, will both leave the office at the end of the month.

“It is purely coincidental that we’re leaving at the same time,” Merrilees said Tuesday.

Their retirements follow the resignation in December of Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. James G. Enright, who lost to Capizzi in the November runoff election.

Capizzi has not yet filled Enright’s position. However, he did make two key appointments created by his own elevation to the top job by the Board of Supervisors in January, 1990. Capizzi replaced Cecil Hicks, who accepted a judgeship.

Capizzi named Maurice L. Evans as his chief assistant, and John D. Conley was promoted to replace Evans as head of special operations. By replacing Enright, Freeman and Merrilees, Capizzi will have the chance to make his own appointments to all the top-level positions in the office.

Freeman, 64, will practice law in Santa Ana with Keith Monroe and Enright. Enright had vowed last year to make Freeman his chief deputy if he was elected district attorney.

“I think it’s only right that Mike (Capizzi) have a chance to name his own people in top positions,” Freeman said. “It’s time for a change for me. And going in with Monroe and Enright, there’s certainly a lot of collegiality there.”

Freeman, who runs the felony panel, has been with the office since 1963. Despite ranking immediately below Capizzi and Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Evans, Freeman has not been included in top management decisions since Capizzi’s appointment to replace Hicks.

“There’s a certain reality to what’s going on that it was time for me to face,” Freeman said.

Freeman ran fourth out of four district attorney candidates in last June’s primary, drawing 14.3% of the vote to Capizzi’s 41.2%, Enright’s 29.1% and Deputy Dist. Atty. Thomas Avdeef’s 15.1%. Freeman had entered the race only when it appeared that Enright would not oppose Capizzi. However, once Enright declared his candidacy, Freeman spent much of his time campaigning for him.

Merrilees, 62, plans to go into retirement, concentrating on his family and remaining active as a piano player in High Society, the 11-piece swing band he’s been with for years. He was a strong Capizzi supporter during the election.

“I have nothing but good things to say about this office,” Merrilees said.

Merrilees joined the district attorney’s office in 1958. He has been an assistant district attorney, ranking with Freeman below the top two in the office, since 1967, running the Municipal Court operations.

“When I first joined the office we had 14 attorneys, and no branch offices,” Merrilees said.

It has nearly 200 attorneys now.