Gangs - Street Violence Expert Witnesses: 4

Joseph E. Gunja is a Jails, Prisons and Corrections Expert with more than 30 years of experience in the corrections industry. Mr. Gunja had a distinguished career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) for over 28 years serving as a Correctional Officer, Shift Supervisor, Investigator, Captain, Associate Warden, and Warden at three complex correctional facilities. 

He also served as Regional Director of the Western Region for over 2 years and was assigned to the FBOP's Headquarters in Washington, DC where he was responsible for authoring national policy and official publications, providing technical expertise to the Assistant Director of Correctional Programs and facility Wardens, Associate Wardens, and Captains. 

After retiring from the FBOP in 2007, Mr. Gunja has been providing correctional consultation and expert witness services. In addition, he has worked for two of the largest private corrections companies, CCA and GEO Group, as Warden at the Northeast Correctional Center in Youngstown, Ohio, and the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton, Oklahoma. 

Litigation Support - Joseph Gunja has an over 90% success rate in all cases he has been retained as an expert, both working with plaintiffs and defendants, as well as several cases of sentencing mitigation or reductions.  While some cases were settled in lieu of court, the settlements were all in favor of the attorneys or firms he represented. He offers advice, expertise, and expert testimony for a variety of issues in matters pertaining to: 

View Simco Correctional Consulting's Business Consulting Profile.

Dr. James F. Pastor, Ph.D, JD, CPP, brings a unique and remarkable career in Security, Policing, and Public Safety, starting as a tactical officer in Gang Crime Enforcement for the Chicago Police Department, one of the most active policing units in the country.

As a security expert, author, attorney, and former professor, Dr. Pastor merges security methods, academic theories, and legal principles; providing an exceptional level of depth and breathe in your case. As an attorney, he served and advocated for both the Chicago Police Department and for two police unions. In addition, he has represented both security guard and electronic security firms. These experiences bring broad experience into the security industry and public safety.

Augmented with a doctorate in Public Policy Analysis, he understands that policies create incentives and drive human behavior. As these directly impact public safety and crime, few possess his experience, his unique insight and his security sense.

Areas of Expertise:

Litigation Support - Dr. Pastor is a highly regarded expert witness with experience in policing, security, public safety, and legal issues relating to these. His depth and breathe of experience is substantive, yet practical. Bringing a unique background, along with credentials and skills, including participating in over 700 prior depositions, has proven to be very effective in his expert witness role.

Simply stated, Dr. Pastor brings practical “street cop” thinking layered with years of academic, legal, and professional experience. He understands the real world, criminological theories, and security methodologies. Combined with security laws and public safety policies, each are merged into authoritative analysis, assessments, and presentations.

Dr. Pastor has over 20 years of university teaching experience in security, public safety, and policing, including Northwestern University- Center for Public Safety and the International Law Enforcement Academy. 

Author of four books on security and public safety, plus chapter on Private Policing in ASIS International's Protection of Assets Manual and created Privatization of Policing Bibliography for Oxford University Press, both being comprehensive, substantive works relating to Private Policing.

View SecureLaw LLC's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Ron Martinelli, PhD, CMI-V, is a nationally renowned Forensic Criminologist and a federal/state courts qualified law enforcement and premises liability expert who is also a Certified Medical Investigator (physician's level). He is also a Certified Suicide Investigator. 

Dr. Martinelli directs the nation's only Forensic Death Investigations & Independent Review Team of 26 law enforcement, forensic and medical experts and specializes in officer-involved death cases, civilian self-defense shooting cases and premises liability/security cases. He is a forensic/law enforcement expert to the U.S. Department of Justice, several State Attorney Generals' Offices, numerous major municipalities and nationally prominent private law firms specializing in wrongful death, civil rights and premises liability. 

Dr. Martinelli is the prevailing expert in over 90% of his retained cases. He has saved defendants over $300M and earned plaintiffs over $160 million in jury verdicts and settlements since 2004. He is the media's go-to forensic expert for FOX News, One America News Network, CNN, HLN, Sky News, BBC, NPR, and the History & Discovery Channels. Dr. Martinelli is skilled in crime scene reconstruction, forensics, applied sciences, human factors, psycho-medical emergencies and premises liability and security cases. His unique and extensive field experience, combined his academic and scientific credentials, excellent written reports and persuasive testimony, make him a very appealing expert to attorneys and juries alike.

Areas of Expertise:

• Arrests
• Search & Seizure
• Use of Force / Excessive Force - All Levels and Weaponry
• Officer Involved Shootings(OIS)
• In-Custody Deaths
• Criminal Investigations
• Law Enforcement & Corrections Practices, Training & Supervision
• Adult & Juvenile Corrections
• Law Enforcement Negligence
• Civilian Self-Defense, Premises Liability, Security, Foreseeable Harm
• Insurance Cases
• COVID Detentions & Arrests

Donald L. Leach, II, is a Jail / Corrections Management expert with over 30 years of experience. He has 20 years of consulting experience on jail management issues nationally, focusing on Risk Management for Jails and Jail Operational Methodology. 

Mr. Leach has extensive supervisory experience, having overseen up to 402 employees (indirectly). He also supervised internal affairs investigations, experienced in interviewing, hiring, training, scheduling, motivating, evaluating, and dismissing personnel. He is experienced in administering and managing a large detention facility, developing and administering programs, budgeting, contract development and monitoring, conducting research, monitoring compliance with policies and procedures, community relations, public speaking, controlling costs, problem-solving, and preparing reports.

Litigation Support - Mr. Leach has served as an expert witness for 5 years, in both State and Federal court. His services are available to counsel for both Plaintiff and Defense and include case review, testimony, and consultation for jail and prison issues.

Areas of Expertise:

View Donald Leach's Consulting Profile.