20th Judicial Circuit Assistant State Attorney Dan Feinberg was awarded the Statewide 2020 Eugene Berry Award. Mr. Feinberg has been a prosecutor for 31 years, the last 28 in the 20th
Judicial Circuit. He is currently Senior Homicide Division Prosecutor and the Chief Prosecutor in the Cold Case Homicide Unit. The Eugene Berry Award is presented to an Assistant State Attorney for outstanding prosecutorial service by the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association. The award is only given to one ASA in the state of Florida each year.
“Assistant State Attorney Dan Feinberg is greatly deserving of this recognition and honor because his work has had a lasting impact on Southwest Florida. Dan has prosecuted numerous heinous murder cases including death penalty cases. He has also helped solve cold cases, holding defendants accountable for their crimes. His work has allowed families to find closure and made Southwest Florida a safer place to live,” said State Attorney Amira Fox.
Assistant State Attorney Feinberg’s work has led to more than a dozen cold cases being successfully prosecuted. They include the conviction of two defendants for the murder of teenager Tara Sidarovich in 2001 in Charlotte County. He also successfully prosecuted the couple responsible for the murder of Pilar Rodriguez, the 4-year-old abducted and murdered in 1999. Dan was also part of the team that solved the Zombicon case involving the murder of a 20-year-old man in Downtown Fort Myers in 2015.
“Dan does not see obstacles, but rather looks at things from all angles, to see if there is a way through the evidence, to the truth. It is with his energy, intellect, and experience, that he helps get justice done,” said State Attorney Fox.
The award is named for Assistant State Attorney Eugene Berry who was shot and killed at his Charlotte County home after answering his door on January 16, 1982. He was murdered by the wife of a man Berry prosecuted on drug charges. At the time of the murder, Berry was 46, and the head of our Charlotte County Office.
In 2001, Dan was promoted to be the head of the Charlotte County Office, following in the footsteps of Berry. While in that position he continued to prosecute major crimes including murder cases. In 2007, Dan joined the newly created Homicide Division, where he was assigned until the creation of the Cold Case Homicide Unit in the Spring of 2019. Dan has charged 20 defendants with homicide charges in Cold Cases, of which 12 are pending trial and 8 have resulted in convictions.
FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Samantha Syoen, Communications Director
239-533-1125
ssyoen@sao.cjis20.org