With his final day on Oct. 18 – though he will take intermittent vacation time to work on moving – Ahearn said he feels confident leaving now that staffing is on the upswing and a project installing updated radio equipment has begun. Ahearn began work in Nov. 2018 after former chief Tom Chapman’s resignation following significant criticism of the department over the investigation into the death of Josiah Lawson, a Black Humboldt State University student who was fatally stabbed on April 15, 2017. Ahearn said his biggest regret in leaving the department is not having been able to bring the case back to court – the first time, murder charges against Kyle Zoellner were dismissed during the preliminary hearing – before his departure.