Mr. Heithecker, raised in Butte County, California and a graduate of Durham High School, has deep ties to the community.  He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History-Political Science from Point Loma College, San Diego, and attended the University of Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, earning his Juris Doctorate in 1992.  After law school he served as a Butte County Deputy District Attorney where he received extensive jury trial and negotiating experience handling all classes of criminal cases.

Upon leaving the District Attorney’s office, Mr. Heithecker was employed as an associate of Hermansen & Berglund, which later became Hermansen, Berglund & Washington. In 1998, after the judicial appointment of Gerald Hermansen to  Butte County Superior Court's bench, Mr. Heithecker became a partner in the law firm of Washington & Heithecker. In 2018, after 22 years working together Mr. Heithecker and Mr. Washington went separate ways. Mr. Heithecker opened up his own law firm in Chico. He specializes in trial litigation with an emphasis in  professional liability defense, medical board inquiries and criminal defense.

Mr. Heithecker has been involved in and tried to verdict numerous complex and serious civil and criminal matters. He also has extensive negotiation experience. He is a member of the Association of Defense Counsel (ADC), and California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ) and serves on Butte County Superior Court's Criminal Ad Hoc committee. Recently, Mr. Heithecker was distinguished as one of the Top 1% of Medical Malpractice trial attorneys.