Getting away with an almost murder
A vindictive pimp shot two men 40 years ago. Two retired sex workers say they covered it up—and it’s why California needs to pass legislation…
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Undercover deputies solicit and arrest 10 women in ‘Stockton stroll’ prostitution sting that uses condoms as evidence
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department subverts the messaging of anti-human trafficking coalition to which it belongs The largest prostitution-related sting in Sacramento County this year swept…
Midnight Burning: Three murders, three detectives and the remnants of a savage summer
Doyle Hemling was in his bedroom when a car door slammed in the darkness. Hemling lived on Annabelle Avenue, a one-way country road dipping through…
A Sacramento crime reporter compares notes with Scotland’s top crime novelist
Ian Rankin’s research and hardened realism has universal appeal By Scott Thomas Anderson I first learned of Scotland’s literary shadow weaver while strolling down Edinburgh’s Young…
What the bones say: Arrest in grisly murder made with luck, determination and a tale beyond the crime tape
The hikers stopped when they saw the skeleton splayed out along the manzanita and scrub brush. It was weather-beaten. A cervical vertebra was missing from…
Corporate cartel logic
Sacramento and Amador among 31 California counties claiming that Big Pharma companies perpetrated an organized criminal conspiracy By Scott Thomas Anderson For Chris, it started…
Nowhere to go: Crammed shelters, a seller’s market and financial challenges brew recipe for a domestic violence disaster
On March 10, Sacramento police Detective Michael Severi sat in a courtroom describing a crime scene from last summer, after officers rushed into a house to…
Gunning for the source: ATF’s gun-tracing investigations are solving crimes across California
A Roseville police officer shot in the face by a .45-caliber Glock in October 2013; a 13-year-old gunned down on the streets of Stockton with…
A Sleepless case: How detectives, prosecutors won groundbreaking Ambien double-murder trial
Placer County attorneys spent weeks battling over whether two teenagers were killed by a recklessly dangerous pill-popper or an accidental victim of Ambien-induced parasomnia. The…
The bling ring: Illegal gambling operation tied to ‘rich-as-f***’ gang in Sacramento
For the second time in four years, law enforcement has broken up an illegal gambling operation in California run by Israeli nationals. The latest investigation…
Ghost of a chance: Battle brews over new anti-ghost gun bill at the state Capitol
A former police officer looks to tackle untraceable assault weapons Mike Gipson smiled as he walked through a lamp-studded hallway inside the state Capitol. Not…
The music ends: Rapper Lizk sentenced to 30-years-to-life for simple gun possession
Performer’s situation draws sympathy from the judge handing out the sentence At 25 years old, Deandre Rogers is officially out of strikes. The South Sacramento…
A reluctant victim
Case involves a Ukrainian woman who requested a restraining order against prosecutor and only testified under the threat of arrest By Scott Thomas Anderson and…
Gripping ghost guns: The death trail of weapons that are untraceable, unrestrictable and so far unstoppable
By Scott Thomas Anderson The house is torn down now. Some papers stapled to a hacked-up stump are the only evidence it ever existed. Before…
Loaded lyrics: Trial of rapper Lizk centers on soundtrack to area gang war
South city performer faces gun charges—again Deandre Rogers doesn’t deny he’s a gang member. But the idea that he was cruising through Sacramento with high-powered, automatic…
Confessions of a killer cop
John Tennis breaks his silence after being fired for fatal encounter with Joseph Mann By Raheem F. Hosseini Dressed in a faded Superman t-shirt that…
Missed warnings: How Sacramento’s domestic violence victims are failed by the system, some losing their lives
As murder-suicides flared, officials searched for more effective way to gauge lethality On May 18, Jarrod Hill was supposed to walk into a Sacramento County…