Which CSI character transfers to San Diego to direct the SDPD Crime Lab?
Answer
Nick Stokes
The CSI character who transfers to San Diego to direct the SDPD Crime Lab is Nick Stokes.
Nick Stokes, played by George Eads, is one of the original investigators introduced in CSI’s 2000 pilot. He is a Texas native who studied at Texas A&M University and previously worked for the Dallas Police Department before joining the Las Vegas crime lab. His specialty includes hair and fiber analysis.
Nick remains with the Las Vegas team for most of the series and rises to CSI Level III and assistant night supervisor. In the fifteenth season episode “The End Game,” he accepts an offer to become director of the San Diego Police Department’s crime lab and leaves Las Vegas.
The move is sometimes confused with the careers of Jim Brass, Greg Sanders, or Warrick Brown, but none of those characters takes over the San Diego lab. Nick’s departure closes his fifteen-season run as a central CSI character.