Dambruch to Retire From Rhode Island Attorney General's Office

Longtime prosecutor and criminal division chief Stephen Dambruch will leave the office when his retirement takes effect in January 2027.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Criminal Justice

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of a stately granite civic building with classical columns under soft overcast light, evoking a quiet institutional transition. — Rhode Island Attorney General's Office criminal division chief Stephen Dambruch will retire in January 2027 as Kim Ahern prepares to take over as state attorney general. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Stephen Dambruch, chief of the criminal division at the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office, filed retirement paperwork, which takes effect in January 2027. Attorney General Peter Neronha confirmed the retirement as Kim Ahern prepares to become the state's new attorney general.

Why it matters

Dambruch has led the division overseeing public corruption, narcotics, firearms, sexual assault, domestic violence and organized crime prosecutions statewide since January 2019. His departure coincides with a leadership transition in the office, which will shape how those cases are handled in Rhode Island going forward.

Dambruch's retirement paperwork has been filed and will take effect in January 2027, with the change confirmed by Attorney General Peter Neronha. No successor for the criminal division chief role has been named in the available information.

The players

Stephen Dambruch

Dambruch is a career prosecutor who has served as chief of the criminal division at the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office and previously as acting U.S. attorney for the District of Rhode Island.

Peter Neronha

Neronha is the Rhode Island Attorney General who confirmed Dambruch's retirement and has worked alongside him for about 30 years.

Kim Ahern

Ahern is set to become the new Rhode Island attorney general, succeeding Peter Neronha in that role.

The details

Dambruch began his career in 1987 as a special assistant attorney general and later served as first assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 2014. He was acting U.S. attorney from March 2017 until January 2019, and in 2023 prosecuted Isaiah Pinkerton, who was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2021 killing of Miya Brophy-Baermann.

1987: Dambruch began his career as a special assistant attorney general.
March 2017: Dambruch became acting U.S. attorney.
January 2019: Dambruch became chief of the state criminal division.
January 2027: Dambruch's retirement takes effect.

Legal Context

Dambruch was part of the prosecution team that won the January 2025 murder convictions of Michael Lambert and Gary Gromkiewicz, placing his retirement shortly after a major homicide case win. His career spanning state and federal prosecution offices reflects the pattern of experienced Rhode Island prosecutors moving between the attorney general's office and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Providence.

Residents with cases in the state's criminal courts may see changes in how public corruption, narcotics, firearms and sexual assault prosecutions are led at the division level. The leadership transition under the incoming attorney general will determine the direction of those prosecutions across Rhode Island.

The takeaway

Leadership changes in prosecutorial offices can carry institutional experience out the door, so watching who fills the criminal division chief role will indicate how Rhode Island's major case priorities evolve. Readers tracking criminal justice in the state should follow the transition under the new attorney general.

What happens next

Dambruch's retirement takes effect in January 2027, and Kim Ahern's transition to attorney general is the next scheduled leadership change in the office.