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Joe Nelson

Joe Nelson is an award-winning investigative reporter for the Southern California News Group's Watchdog Team. He is a graduate of California State University Fullerton and in 2014 completed a fellowship at Loyola Law School's Journalist Law School program. He is a bibliophile, film buff, and lover of the outdoors.

William Richards, who was wrongfully convicted for the 1993 murder of his wife in Hesperia and spent 23 years in prison, has been awarded $25.2 million by a jury in his civil lawsuit against San Bernardino County, the Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney’s Office. (Courtesy of William Richards)

Former Hesperia man wrongfully convicted of murdering wife awarded $25.2 million

July 9, 2025 at 4:03 p.m.

William Richards maintained his innocence and appealed his criminal conviction several times until it was finally reversed by the state Supreme Court.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Martin Huizar detaining and arresting Adele Shirey, 45, in her Winchester home on July 4, 2024. A video of the incident went viral on social media.
(Courtesy of YouTube)

Menifee woman alleges deputy illegally ‘barged’ into her house on a noise complaint last 4th of July

June 29, 2025 at 7:00 a.m.

The former Winchester resident claims she and her family have been traumatized by the actions of the deputy, who is still employed but no longer works patrol.

Former San Bernardino District Attorney during a July 2018 news conference. (Photo by Stan Lim, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Former San Bernardino County DA suspended, sanctioned by State Bar for misconduct

June 11, 2025 at 3:42 p.m.

Mike Ramos, who was turned out of office in 2018, gambled on a high-stakes corruption case and lost.

A board majority is at stake in the Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, election for the Redlands Unified School District board. (File Photo by John Valenzuela, Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

Redlands Unified making strides addressing sexual abuse, but still lags in resolving complaints

June 11, 2025 at 3:50 p.m.

The state attorney general found the district was "substantially compliant" in 61 of the 63 state-mandated provisions, but faced challenges resolving complaints.

Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

LA County DA’s Instagram post on crime irks San Bernardino County civic leaders

June 1, 2025 at 8:40 a.m.

Critics say Nathan Hochman's use of the San Bernardino County sign as backdrop for his tough-on-crime message plays on "old stereotypes."

Rialto Unified Nutrition Services Lead Agent Fausat Rahman-Davies seen with members of Rialto UnifiedÕs District Student Advisory Committee, DSAC, during a tour of the district’s central kitchen in November 2018. (File photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Rialto Unified nutrition employees allege student food was misappropriated, given away

May 22, 2025 at 1:57 p.m.

School district protocol was violated when excess food was routinely directed to friends and family members of top managers, Nutrition Services employees allege.

Sarah Dunbar-Riley, Nutrition Services Supervisor for Rialto Unified School District, stands outside the district’s Central Kitchen building on Thursday, April 10, 2025. Dunbar-Riley is speaking out against alleged misconduct within the district’s Nutrition Services department, including accusations of falsified student meal count data, which may have affected how much the district received in state and federal reimbursement, as well as claims of ongoing employee harassment and the misappropriation of government-issued food. (Photo by Anjali Sharif-Paul, The Sun/SCNG)

Rialto Unified employees allege student meal counts were inflated to collect more subsidies

May 14, 2025 at 4:38 p.m.

A new district probe is underway into allegations that possibly millions of extra dollars were extracted from state and federal meal subsidy programs for needy students.

A still image from a bystander video shows the arrest of then-16-year-old Christian Aguilar at the L.A. County Fair by a Pomona police officer. The officer, Chad Jensen, punched the teenager twice during the arrest. (Photo via Youtube)

Former Pomona police officers acquitted in brutality case settle lawsuit against city for $2.5 million

May 8, 2025 at 9:54 a.m.

The former ranking police officers claim they were relegated to manual labor and menial duties after they were acquitted in a federal civil rights case.

Sam Toghraie holds a picture of his daughter, Casandra Pastora, at his home in Chino Hills on Aug. 26, 2021. The pregnant, schizophrenic 24-year-old died by suicide at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo by Watchara Phomicinda, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies not culpable in death of schizophrenic inmate, judge rules

May 5, 2025 at 9:21 a.m.

Cassandra Pastora was three months' pregnant when she suffocated herself in a cell at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Sabine Robertson-Phillips, who has been on administrative leave, will step down Sept. 1 as assistant superintendent of human resources for the Redlands Unified School District. (Staff file photo by John Valenzuela, Redlands Daily Facts/SCNG)

Redlands Unified’s HR director, key figure in student sex abuse scandal, to resign

May 7, 2025 at 4:31 p.m.

Sabine Robertson-Phillips will remain on leave -- at $25,000 a month -- until she retires Sept. 1 and collects hundreds of thousands of dollars more.

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