David Mitchell, the muckraking journalist who won a Pulitzer as editor of the Point Reyes Light, has been slapped with a temporary restraining order by the ex-prosecutor who replaced him at the Marin County newspaper, according to a report in this morning’s (March 17) Marin Independent Journal. Robert Plotkin, 35, a former Monterey County deputy district attorney who bought the Light from Mitchell, claims that Mitchell, 62, grabbed him by the throat on Feb. 16 while the two were driving to lunch to talk about a story Mitchell wanted published. Plotkin said in court papers that he jumped out of the car and Mitchell nearly drove his car into the newspaper office’s French doors. Mitchell told Marin IJ reporter Nancy Isles Nation that Plotkin was overreacting. “The guy is excitable and sometimes has a tendency to jump at shadows. He sometimes goes after the people trying to help him,” Mitchell told Nation. Plotkin told Nation: “Since I took over the newspaper, it’s been very difficult on Dave, and the loss of the newspaper has affected him very deeply, and I hope he’ll be able to recover.” The Point Reyes Light, with Mitchell as editor, won a Pulitzer in 1979 when it exposed the violent Synanon Cult. Mitchell this week received an award from the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for his career achievements.