The Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office has been sued in federal court because one of its deputies shot and killed someone. Again. This action, filed Monday, July 19, in US Court in Fresno, stems from the shooting of 16-year-old Xander Mann. That lawsuit follows by eight days the filing of a similar action based upon the fatal shooting of Eloy Gonzalez, 41, last September. The teenager and the homeless man were […]
How Many Free Shovels on Turlock’s Amazon Gift Card?
While Turlock officials and Amazon flacks were still unwilling to confirm that a huge warehouse was going to be a fulfillment center for the internet giant, a burning question remained unanswered: Just how many shiny, commemorative shovels was Amazon going to provide for the groundbreaking ceremony? Several examples of those shovels were presented to City of Turlock managers so elected council members could be photographed “digging” into the earth at […]
The Back End of Amazon’s Gift Horse for Turlock
Steve Ringoff is a freelance journalist. See more of his work here. City of Turlock officials were about ready to polish the ceremonial groundbreaking shovels before it was publicly revealed that Amazon planned a 1,000,000 plus square foot warehouse facility in their southern Stanislaus County municipality. In an article April 21, bearing the bylines of Modesto Bee reporters Kevin Valine, Marijke Rowland, and Kristen Lam, that team put together enough […]
Who Was the Homeless Man Shot by Stanislaus Deputies?
The man shot to death by Stanislaus Sheriff’s deputies in late September was once a star high school athlete, a doting father and a solid wage earner who was brought down by drugs, says the woman who was his girlfriend for about a dozen years. Are these just the nice things we say about everyone once they die, even if not true? How would she know these things? Well, she […]
Questions Remain in Shooting Death of Homeless Man
Was this guy a burglar or just some homeless man sleeping rough in the bushes alongside a commercial building? That question apparently was not answered before he was shot to death by Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputies just about a month ago. Still, that question, and others, have not been publicly answered. All we really know is that Eloy Mares Gonzalez Jr. was hit by several bullets fired by two deputies […]
The Supervisor’s Guide to Living Large by Avoiding Taxes
“I’ve had it with California. It’s the hostile business climate, the politics and high taxes,” said Stanislaus County Supervisor James R. DeMartini, explaining why he was moving to Nevada instead of running again for his board seat. If he was trying to sound like a victim, some aren’t buying it. Mr. DeMartini has been living large and will only live larger when he makes the move. Here what he has […]
Will McClatchy/Bee Sale to Vulture Hedge Fund Disturb the Force?
Steve Ringhoff is a freelance writer. View more of his work at A Little Long Form Journalism. Did you “sense” it, like Obi Wan recognizing the great disturbance in the force, as McClatchy, that family owned newspaper chain whose 30 newsrooms included the Modesto Bee, changed hands Friday? There was no big ceremony like a symbolic handover of a huge key as has been pictured in thousands of newspaper photos over […]
Deputy Blamed for Fatal Crash: Fair or Not?
Steve Ringhoff is an independent investigative journalist. See more of his stories here. Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy Antonio Hinostroza was killed when his patrol car slammed into a signal pole at Claribel and Terminal south of Riverbank on November 25, 2018 while speeding to join in the pursuit of a drunk driver. This week, the Central Division of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) released a 219 page final report fulfilling […]
After a Horrible Accident: Was Justice Served?
Always combining his experience as an attorney and journalist, Steve Ringhoff has an ongoing interest in law and justice. Below, while investigating a horrible accident, he looks closely at LaGrange Road, transecting parts of western Tuolumne County and eastern Stanislaus County, the primary feeder route for drivers between foothill communities and Southern California. It was Trista’s turn to drive. It was a school day—a Friday, October 21, 2016—so, when Trista […]
CHP Still Withholding Details of Deputy’s Deadly Crash
Steve Ringhoff combines an attorney’s regard for law with a journalist’s need to know as he investigates local news, most especially stories involving suspicious circumstances surrounding deadly events. Here, we reprint with permission his latest work from Modesto Explained. It’s been almost 11 months since Stanislaus Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Hinostroza was killed when his patrol car wrapped itself around a pole at Terminal and Claribel southwest of Riverbank and the […]