Matthew Serratto has been promoted to the Supervising Deputy District Attorney position at the Merced County District Attorney’s Office, District Attorney Larry D. Morse II announced last week. He will replace Steve Slocum, who was recently selected to be the new Merced County Superior Court Commissioner in January.
Serratto, 37, joined the District Attorney’s Office in 2007 as a misdemeanor attorney, and became a felony attorney in 2008. Since he began his career as a prosecutor, he has taken a total of 56 trials to verdict, 42 of these being felony trials, which included seven murder trials, six attempted murder trials, and 16 "life" trials. He was also the lead prosecutor on Operation Scrapbook, a year-long investigation which culminated on May 10, 2017 with the arrest of over 60 Sureno gang members in Merced County, at least 23 of whom have already been convicted and sentenced.
"Matt has distinguished himself as a prosecutor from the moment that he joined our office. His commitment to both public safety and improving the quality of life in Merced County is exemplary. He will be a great addition to the management of the District Attorney’s Office," said Morse.
Serratto was elected to the Merced City Council, District 5 in November 2016, has been Chief Organizer for the Merced COMVIP Charity Basketball Tournament from 2013- 2017, was a Mock Trial assistant coach for Mariposa High School in 2017, was featured as one of the Merced Sun Star’s "20 under 40" in 2017, is a Board Member of the Merced Youth Connect and the Vice President of the Merced Attorney’s Association.
Serratto was born in San Francisco and grew up in Burlingame. He attended the University of California, Davis and graduated in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in history and minors in English and war and peace studies. After graduating, he taught English in Belgium and Argentina from 2002-2003. He obtained his law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2006 where he served as the editor in chief of the Pacific Basin Law Journal.
As a Supervising District Attorney, Serratto will handle significant, high-profile cases as assigned, assist with charging cases as they are referred to the District Attorney’s Office, and supervise other attorney’s to assist them in handling their cases as professionally and ethically as possible. There are 25 Deputy District Attorney’s, including Serratto and Supervising Deputy District Attorney Nicole Silveira, who was promoted to this position in 2016.
