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C.A. Affirms Restraining Order Against Ex-Professor Whose Identity It Conceals
By a MetNews Staff Writer
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DAVID STACHURA former professor |
The Third District Court of Appeal yesterday filed an opinion affirming a workplace violence restraining order in which the identity of the appellant, a former professor at California State University, Chico, is concealed, although his name appears in the Butte Superior Court record and in news reports.
David Stachura is referred to in the unpublished opinion by Justice Elana Duarte as “D.S.” The opinion upholds an Oct. 27, 2023 order by Butte Superior Court Judge Virginia Gingery.
The order was obtained by the Board of Trustees of the California State University.
Stachura came under investigation in 2020. The campus newspaper, The Orion, on Dec. 8, 2022, reported:
“A prominent Chico State University biology professor allegedly spoke of killing two female colleagues who cooperated in a 2020 investigation that found he had a prohibited sexual affair with a graduate student, state court and newly released university records show.
“A former FBI agent hired by the university to evaluate David Stachura and the alleged threat concluded that the university might have been justified to fire him, his report shows. But Stachura did not act on the alleged threat and Chico State retained him, sanctioning him lightly for the alleged affair.”
The two colleagues are identified by Duarte as “E.F.” and “K.G.”
Duarte wrote that “substantial evidence supports the trial court’s finding that it was highly probable D.S.’s conduct placed a reasonable person in fear for her safety, and D.S.’s conduct served no legitimate purpose.”
She explained:
“There was no legitimate purpose to D.S.’s aggressive and hostile course of conduct, his expression of intent to kill E.F. and K.G., his purchase of guns and hollow-point bullets for the express purpose of killing his colleagues, his repeated practice sessions at the shooting range for the purpose of being able to use the guns to kill his colleagues, and his multiple references to mass shootings. D.S.’s conduct and statements had no legitimate purpose other than to put those who received the communications in fear for their safety.”
The case is Board of Trustees of California State University v. D.S., C100001.
Departs Chico State
Stachura is no longer teaching at Chico State.
The Orion on May 15, 2024, published this account:
“David Stachura did not receive a severance package when he resigned Feb. 14, but he did receive a windfall of sorts, in that he does not have to pay attorney fees.
Stachura benefited financially from a prolonged paid administrative leave—$138,110.68—and over $26,000 in waived attorney’s fees a judge said he owed the university, court documents state.”
The article noted:
“The employment settlement said both Stachura and Chico State would drop any ongoing lawsuits between the two entities. Additionally, Stachura would be barred from working within the California State University system ever again.”
EdSource, an online news website focused on education, on Feb. 15, 2024, disclosed:
“Embattled Chico State biology professor David Stachura is no longer employed by the university, a spokesperson said in a two-sentence statement issued Thursday.
“The spokesperson, Andrew Staples, would not say if Stachura, who had been on paid suspension for more than a year, was fired or resigned….
Libel Action
The account notes:
“The end of Stachura’s tenure at Chico State comes after a contentious court case to ban him from the campus and a failed libel suit he brought against a colleague.”
Stachura sued Betsey Tamietti, a lecturer in biological sciences at Chico State, for defamation.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Chris A. Knudsen said in a footnote in the respondent’s brief on appeal in C100001:
“By the time the trial court issued its Statement of Decision, Appellant had dismissed his lawsuit against M.K. and B.T. had prevailed on a special motion to strike all the claims alleged against her.”
M.K. is Miranda Noelle King who, in 2021, sued Stachura for divorce. She obtained a domestic violence restraining order against him.
On his website, Stachura says:
“…I have a PhD in Molecular Biology and am a broadly trained scientist with expertise in immunology, hematology, and stem cell biology. I led a large successful laboratory at Chico State…and then became the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of FactorFive Skincare, where I help design and produce skin care that uses stem cell technology. I’m also the CSO of SpecBio, where we are using similar technology to design FDA-approved treatments for wounds.”
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