O.C. prosecutor decides it’s time to wave goodbye

Up before the sun, one of Orange County’s most seasoned prosecutors spends as many mornings as he can far south of his top floor office in Santa Ana, paddling out to sea in search of waves that will help carry him through the day.

Those well acquainted with his straight-laced reputation might find it hard to imagine Chuck Middleton wearing anything but a tailored suit, or having a hair out of place. But surfing has long been a secret to his success. And by week’s end, he will no longer have to hustle out of the ocean, peel off his wetsuit, and get polished up for work.

Come Thursday, Middleton is retiring as second-in-command to Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas, leaving behind a long and distinguished career that he brought to a close with a flourish: salvaging a high-profile sexual assault case against the son of an assistant sheriff and two other young men.

The reason for his decision is simple: The demands that come with being in charge of day-to-day operations of such a large crime-fighting organization can be overwhelming. At 58, Middleton is ready for a more laid-back lifestyle.

“I’ve still got my health. And I still do a lot of things outside the office,” he said. “And now it’s time to enjoy it all. The job is stressful ... and it’s time to reduce that stress.”

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For nearly 30 years, Middleton has been helping take Orange County’s toughest criminals off the street. Known for his honesty, integrity and even-handedness, he has earned high praise from his peers and the legal community outside the district attorney’s office. With nearly 100 trials under his belt, including eight death-penalty cases, his courtroom skills and legal expertise have been an invaluable resource to deputy prosecutors under his wing.

As chief assistant the last six years, Middleton is widely credited for restoring morale and stability to an agency plagued by turmoil and infighting during Rackauckas’ early administration, when Rackauckas reassigned a handful of prosecutors who supported his political opponent in the 1998 and 2002 elections. As the man in charge of promotions, rotations and recruiting, Middleton has made sure that moves are based on merit, not politics, and even reached out to those who have been critical of the administration, several prosecutors said.

“Chuck’s guided that process,” said Assistant Dist. Atty. David Brent, who supervises the homicide unit and serves on the Death Penalty Review Committee with Middleton.

Like a lot of his colleagues, Brent seeks out Middleton’s advice, and has learned from watching him in action. One of his fondest recollections is when Middleton, using a detail he found buried in a psychology report, picked apart the testimony of a witness testifying on behalf of Rosie Alfaro, who stabbed a young girl to cover up a burglary and in 1992 became the first Orange County woman to be sentenced to death.

“He was so thorough, only Chuck could have discovered something like that,” Brent said. “He could destroy an unprepared witness. “

To this day, Brent still lugs the briefcase Middleton handed down to him about 15 years ago to every major trial, considering it an “honor” to have it beside him. Middleton’s wife had bought him a new briefcase, and he thought the older one, still in good shape, shouldn’t go to waste.

“I respect him so much. It’s meant so much to me,” Brent said. “He’s been a great leader. We’re going to lose a lot in losing him.”

Middleton’s law career didn’t take root until he returned from the Vietnam War, where he served on a naval air crew that hunted in South Vietnamese waters looking for Russian trawlers that were helping the enemy. He still has a very clear, searing memory of coming under mortar attack: “That leaves certain feelings. Fear.”

“As a human being, my time in the service matured me. I was immature when I went in,” he said.

When he got back, he finished college, got married and graduated from Western State University College of Law in Fullerton.

His first trial was a misdemeanor case against a defendant who was representing himself. Without another lawyer to take cues from, Middleton was “running blind,” he recalled.

He can’t remember what the charges were or if he won the case. He does remember being so nervous that he couldn’t keep his knees from knocking as he stood behind the dais. And that when it was over, he felt a rush of adrenaline, and “was hooked.”

Since that day, he has risen steadily through the ranks, sharpening his courtroom strategies and tactics by listening to and watching everyone around him: jurors, judges, fellow prosecutors and defense attorneys.

Some of his best advice, he said, actually came from a bailiff who watched him come unhinged whenever a certain judge ruled against him: “You’re never going to make it. You get so uptight at the judge’s rulings,” he warned Middleton. “I listened to that. I focused on that,” Middleton said.

Rackauckas named him senior assistant in 1999 and chief assistant a year later in a management shake-up that led to lawsuits, resignations and a climate of fear. During this period, the Orange County Grand Jury issued a report criticizing Rackauckas for mismanaging his office. To this day, Middleton dismisses those rocky times as the result of misinformation spread by enemies of Rackauckas, “who has more integrity than any person I’ve ever met.”

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Professionally, Middleton said his proudest moment came two years ago, when he was greeted with a standing ovation from his colleagues moments after the jury returned guilty verdicts in the second trial of Gregory Haidl, Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann.

The sexual assault case gained notoriety because the 2002 attack of the 19-year-old accuser occurred at the home of former Orange County Assistant Sheriff Donald Haidl, and was captured on a lurid 21-minute videotape.

“You never expect anything like that -- ever,” he said. “I felt embarrassed at first. But later, I thought a lot about it. It makes you realize how important these cases are. It ... tells citizens that people are going to be held accountable for what they do to women. A female cannot be treated like that, regardless of what their background is.”

Middleton took over the case, clearing his calendar, nine months after jurors deadlocked in favor of acquittal in the first trial, handled by another prosecutor. In a change of legal strategy, he narrowed the charges and streamlined the testimony. And for the first time, he showed the videotape to the victim, who hadn’t clearly remembered what happened to her that night.

John Barnett, a prominent defense attorney who represented Nachreiner, said it was rare for a prosecutor to take a case that had become such a wild card.

“It says a lot about him. Something positive,” Barnett said. “He took a case that was on the verge of being lost, and tried it anyhow. The prosecution had the tape, but it didn’t work the first time. There’s obviously a danger that it might not work a second time. He displayed all the things you expect in a very good prosecutor, in his judgment, preparation and performance.”

Middleton hasn’t been immune from criticism. In 1994, he was in charge of the sexual assault unit when prosecutors were blamed for going light on rapists. In one case, they declined to prosecute a three-time convicted rapist accused of a fourth rape. A year later the man raped and killed a woman. Middleton was fast and forthright in providing a public explanation of the decision not to prosecute, as has been his practice.

“Is there any other way to be?” he said.

Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno, the presiding judge of the Haidl case and senior bench officer in Orange County, said the one thing that has always stood out about Middleton is his integrity.

“That’s the hallmark of his work and who he is,” Briseno said. “He’s very thorough, very conscientious, very meticulous ... a remarkable person to be around. When you see a person work under high levels of stress, you really get to see their character.”

Middleton is much more laid-back at home and in social settings, according to his wife of 32 years, Dyan. And when he drops his guard, she said, he is affectionate and fun. He likes to tease and banter with their two grown children. And he’s not shy about hugging his 6-foot-1 son.

“He’s a hands-on dad,” Dyan Middleton said. “He’s the hardest working man I’ve ever met. But he’s not a workaholic. He balances his life.”

Which brings him to surfing, a favorite escape since he took up the sport while growing up in Baldwin Park. He has braved big sets at Pipeline and Makaha while stationed at a naval air base in Hawaii. These days, he prefers the slower pace of San Onofre State Beach because of the “feeling of being so far away” from everything.

“You go out and surf and it’s a completely different environment,” he said. “It has a very calming effect.”

On a recent winter’s morning, Middleton cuts a youthful figure as he checks the break at Dog Patch. Trim and compact, he is cradling a longboard. The bluffs bask in the amber glow of an early sun. Too flat to paddle out.

With him is Dave Himelson, a regular surf buddy who retired last year as a senior assistant district attorney. Himelson is amused how Middleton, meticulous and reliable, is always showered, shaved and exactly on time.

“He’s so well-coiffed, and I show up looking like a sub sandwich,” Himelson jokes later. “Once you get him wet, though, he looks like the rest of us. Messed-up hair and a smile on his face.”

An avid gardener and woodworker, Middleton has other activities planned for his retirement. He is already at work on his latest project: remodeling his kitchen.

But starting Friday, look for him on the waves.

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christine.hanley@latimes.com