Sheriff’s deputies question reporter at her home

Aaron Leathley, a reporter for the central California daily newspaper The Stockton Record, was visited at her Stockton home on Aug. 30, 2024, by San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who questioned her about a court document she had reported on months earlier.

In November 2023, sheriff’s deputies searched the home of Stockton Unified School District board president AngelAnn Flores and the school board’s headquarters. Later that month, Leathley reported on various details from the search warrant, a copy of which the paper had obtained from the San Joaquin County Superior Court — including that deputies had searched Flores’ home and vehicles, questioned Flores and seized her phones, iPad and laptop to investigate her alleged misuse of a school district credit card, witness intimidation and other misconduct.

A day after the article published, the Record reported, a public information officer for the court emailed Leathley to tell her that the warrant had been released accidentally and ask her “to prevent any further dissemination of this document by copying, sharing, or using it for further publication.” The sheriff’s office also said at the time that the warrant should not have been released, according to the Record.

Flores was charged in May 2024 with making fraudulent insurance claims, embezzlement and theft of school district funds and pleaded not guilty. The criminal case against her is ongoing.

On Aug. 30, two sheriff’s deputies who identified themselves as members of the Agriculture, Gangs, and Narcotics Enforcement team under the sheriff’s Special Services Division arrived at Leathley’s door. One claimed that Leathley had been emailed a “cease and desist” about the warrant, Leathley confirmed in a phone call with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. AGNET members also conducted the search of Flores’ home, Leathley said.

Leathley told the Tracker that one of the deputies asked her about the “cease and desist,” repeating “What happened with that?” several times.

The Record reported that it has no records of a cease and desist letter and Sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Levin told the paper he wasn’t aware of one. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office would not confirm to the paper whether it had sent a cease and desist letter to Leathley.

Freedom of the Press Foundation Director of Advocacy Seth Stern condemned the deputies’ “shenanigans,” saying, “Officials should never intimidate a journalist for possessing lawfully obtained records, whether through court cases or house calls.” The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker is a project of FPF.

When asked for an explanation of the deputies’ actions, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department told the Tracker, “Because this is an ongoing investigation, I can’t answer those questions.” Leathley told the Tracker she didn’t know whether this “ongoing investigation” was connected to Flores.

“I think, structurally, something like this always could have a chilling effect on reporting,” Leathley said of the deputies’ house call. But, she added, “I would not change how I report on the situation based on intimidation.”

Editor’s Note: This incident has been updated to include comments from Leathley and to correct the spelling for the name of Sheriff’s Sgt. Daniel Levin.