The long-running court case surrounding Stockton Unified school board member AngelAnn Flores took a new turn this month, when a former court clerk was arrested and accused of improperly releasing a search warrant in the Flores case.
Here are a few things to know about these cases, and about how Stocktonia is covering them.
The search warrant: A search warrant was issued in the Flores case in November 2023. After deputies searched Flores’ home, the Stockton Record obtained a copy of the search warrant from San Joaquin County Superior Court.
At the time, Aaron Leathley was a reporter for the Stockton Record. A receipt issued by the superior court Nov. 21, 2023, shows a copy of court records was given to Leathley, who paid the court $28 for the copy.
The Record published a story about the warrant, written by Leathley and another Record staffer. After that, county officials said they believed the search warrant should not have been released. The Record reported that a court spokesperson emailed the newspaper to say the warrant release was an accident.
In April, Flores was arrested; she now faces charges of theft of public funds. Several months later, the Record reported, sheriff’s deputies visited Leathley’s home and asked questions about the search warrant, saying they wanted “to know what happened.”
The reporter: Leathley later left the Record voluntarily and now works as a freelance reporter in Stockton. She frequently writes for Stocktonia.
What you’ll see in Stocktonia: As a longtime local reporter, Leathley is able to write with authority about the stories of the Flores case and the court’s release of the search warrant. If Leathley’s work itself becomes the focus of a news story, another Stocktonia journalist will cover the story.
In general, reporters and news outlets try to cover the news, not become a part of it. Either way, you can rely on Stocktonia to report the facts.