West
Prosecutor sues Los Angeles DA for retaliation after he was punished for 'misgendering' child predator
FIRST ON FOX: A deputy district attorney in Los Angeles has filed a complaint against his bosses for an alleged “extensive retaliation campaign” that derailed his career and saw him suspended without pay and punished further for “misgendering” a convicted child predator and killer – the latest in roughly two dozen whistleblower lawsuits.
“For the past two years, Gascon has tried to silence me,” Shea Sanna, the prosecutor, told Fox News Digital. “He has suspended me without pay, threatened my livelihood, attacked my credibility, tarnished my reputation, demoted me, investigated me, and harassed me, all so I would obey him; so I would stay quiet; so I wouldn’t speak up on behalf of those most affected by his misguided political policies.”
Sanna is accusing Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon, the county and other officials of whistleblower retaliation and the intentional infliction of emotional distress, according to court filings obtained by Fox News Digital.
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Deputy District Attorney Shea Sanna at the Hannah Tubbs hearing in Antelope Valley Juvenile Court, California, Jan. 27, 2022. (Dave Buchan)
In one instance, Gascon’s office sought to investigate him for “insubordination” while he was away on an approved vacation, the filing alleges.
But much of the conflict stems from Gascon’s handling of James “Hannah” Tubbs, a convicted child molester who also bashed his own friend’s skull in with a rock in Kern County.
“Since publicly opposing Gascón’s mishandling of the Tubbs case, Gascón has set his sights on Sanna, looking to manufacture any conceivable reason to make an example of his perceived disloyalty and ultimately, terminate him,” Sanna’s attorneys at the Dhillon Law Group said in a statement.
Tubbs was about to be paroled from an adult men’s prison on assault charges in 2021, but Los Angeles prosecutors asked for a custody transfer so he could face justice in connection with a 2014 attack on a 10-year-old girl.
WOKE CALIFORNIA PROSECUTOR ‘IRONICALLY IN CHARGE OF ETHICS’ CHARGED WITH FELONIES
Hannah Tubbs appears in court for sentencing in Bakersfield, California, on Nov. 7, 2023. Tubbs was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the 2019 murder of Michael Clark, after pleading guilty. (Splash News for Fox News Digital)
The complaint alleges that Gascon had Sanna taken off of the case and prevented him from presenting evidence – then targeted him with “sham investigations” when he blew the whistle on policy and ethics violations.
Sanna raised other ethics issues, including a potential violation of Marsy’s law, which protects victims’ rights, and saw additional retaliation, according to the complaint. He was later ordered to drive 70 miles from his office in Antelope Valley to meet with top Gascon aide Joseph Iniguez and suspended for “misgendering” Tubbs. He was ordered to make the same drive at least two more times, in what the complaint alleges was an “intentionally abusive and malicious manner.”
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“In early 2022, Sanna’s once promising career trajectory was derailed when he publicly revealed how Gascon’s policies had led to a miscarriage of justice in the Tubbs case, nearly resulting in the release of a highly dangerous and violent sexual predator,” the complaint reads. “Sanna also exposed how the Gascón Administration had suppressed evidence and directed Sanna not to oppose defense counsel’s arguments in order to secure Tubbs’s release.”
The Tubbs case garnered national attention because even though he was in his 20s, he was prosecuted as a juvenile in Los Angeles under Gascon, because the perpetrator was only 17 at the time of the crime.
Hannah Tubbs began identifying as female after being arrested in connection with a 2014 child molestation case in Los Angeles County. (Los Angeles County)
Jailhouse phone calls obtained by Fox News in 2022 appeared to show Tubbs and his father hatch a plan to identify as female, seeking to be housed in a girls’ facility or released outright. After the calls came out, the lawsuit alleges that Sanna was told Gascon’s administration was “coming for him.”
Tubbs has a history of convictions of violent crimes and drug offenses in California, Washington and Idaho and has been accused of at least two other attacks on girls, in addition to the one in Los Angeles. His plan for a light sentence in a juvenile facility that kept him off the state’s sex offender registry fell apart, however, when Kern County prosecutors had him extradited to face manslaughter charges.
Tubbs, now 28 and using the name Hannah, is being housed in the California Institution for Men, prison records show. That decision was up to state officials.
Joseph Iniguez, left, and George Gascon at the Reform L.A. Jails Summit + Day Party: Mental Health Matters on Nov. 9, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Patrisse Cullors)
“In the Tubbs case, Deputy District Attorney Shea Sanna did nothing but seek to uphold his ethical and legal duties to present all relevant evidence to the court,” his attorney, Anthony Fusaro, told Fox News Digital. “Yet because this evidence conflicted with D.A. Gascon’s recently enacted policies and public statements, Gascon sought to suppress it. When Mr. Sanna informed his supervisors and the public of Gascon’s suppression efforts, Gascon responded with a relentless retaliation campaign against Mr. Sanna that persists to this day.”
Other high-profile cases that Sanna prosecuted include the wrong-way driving teen who mowed down a mother and her baby in a stroller in Venice Beach in 2021.
Although that case is not part of the retaliation lawsuit, he blew the whistle again on the teen suspect’s lenient punishment. Kristopher Baca was released after just a few months – and murdered in a drive-by shooting before his 18th birthday.
Gascon is facing roughly two dozen retaliation lawsuits from prosecutors in his office.
He’s up for re-election in November, facing a challenge from independent Nathan Hochman. A spokesperson for Gascon’s office said it does not comment on pending litigation or personnel matters.
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San Francisco, CA
Missing woman last seen in San Francisco found dead in Texas after 53 years
On Wednesday, San Francisco police closed the case of a missing woman who was last seen in the city in 1973.
Police said 27-year-old Cheryl Lanier was last seen in 1973 in San Francisco, and her initial missing person’s report was filed in 2010. For years, the department’s Missing Person Unit worked on the case, but it remained open and unsolved.
In July 2025, police said they received a tip out of Harris County in Houston, Texas, advising that a deceased “Jane Doe” could be Lanier. After a DNA analysis, police determined the “Jane Doe” was Lanier and closed the case after 53 years.
Denver, CO
Could the Dolphins Do Another Deal With Denver?
As the NFL draft moves farther into the rearview mirror and the offseason program continues to march on, linebacker Jordyn Brooks remains one of three significant Miami Dolphins veterans looking for a contract extension.
And while new GM Jon-Eric Sullivan said at draft time that running back De’Von Achane was not available for trading purposes, he hasn’t made the same declaration for either Brooks or center Aaron Brewer (while it’s fair to add that Sullivan wasn’t asked specifically about the latter two at draft time, he easily could have ended all speculation by adding them to Achane’s name).
Instead, what we have are Sullivan’s prior words that he always would listen if another GM were to give him a call.
That’s important to remember when it comes to Brooks when we hear or see reports around the league about teams in the market for a linebacker.
The Dallas Cowboys were one such team heading into the draft, but they acquired former starting San Francisco 49ers starter Dee Winters for a fifth-round pick, so it would seem they’re not longer shopping around.
Now comes a report that the Denver Broncos could be looking to add a linebacker to a defense they believe could lead them to a Super Bowl after they secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs last year before losing starting QB Bo Nix in the divisional round.
An NFL executive told Denver Broncos On SI that they could be looking to make a move that seemed to describe the Dolphins and Brooks to a T.
“The Broncos, I am certain, are going to be watching every cut for a terrific linebacker who can upgrade that,” the executive told Broncos On SI. “It’s the only weak link on their defense. If they could get one dominant player that another team couldn’t afford or doesn’t want to pay because they’re not in contention, they could be scary next year.”
The key line in the executive’s quote was about a dominant player that a team doesn’t want to pay because they’re not in contention.
Wow, might as well have stamped Brooks’ picture on that comment right there.
Brooks was dominant last year, for sure, when he earned All-Pro honors and it’s not realistic to expect the Dolphins to be in contention in 2026 after their roster overhaul that ended with more than 60 percent of the team’s salary cap going to players no longer around.
Under normal circumstances, extending Brooks would look like a no-brainer for the Dolphins given his ability, leadership and culture-setting characteristics, but he’s looking for a payday and he’s also going to be 29 years old during the 2026 season.
So instead of a slam dunk, the Dolphins have to ask themselves have kind of financial commitment they want to make to a linebacker who likely will be in his 30s when the team is ready to compete.
Brooks has no guarantees this year with a $7.8 million base salary and he’s set to become a free agent next offseason when his contract goes into void years. If a move were to happen with Brooks, it almost assuredly would take place after June 1 when the Dolphins would save $8.4 million with a trade.
Brooks currently has a $10.9 million cap number for 2026 and an extension likely would lower that number, which makes it very intriguing that it hasn’t happened yet or that the Dolphins did not restructure his contract to lower his cap number — the way they did with Achane and Brewer.
But any decision to trade Brooks would not be easy because the Dolphins, after all, do need good players and good leaders to establish a foundation in the first year of the Jon-Eric Sullivan/Jeff Hafley regime.
WHAT A TRADE COULD LOOK LIKE
If the Broncos indeed were to place a phone call to Sullivan at some point, there probably isn’t a strong likelihood that the Dolphins could get a replay of what they got when they sent wide receiver Jaylen Waddle to Denver this year.
That deal saw Miami give up Waddle for picks in the first and third rounds, with the teams swapping fourth-round choices to the benefit of the Broncos for 19 spots.
But Waddle is only 27, was under contract for three more years and plays a more premium position.
So thinking about getting a first-round pick for Brooks would not seem realistic, though maybe Denver would be willing to pay a bigger price if the Broncos indeed feel that the linebacker could be the final piece to a Super Bowl puzzle.
As was the case with the Cowboys, this is a situation to monitor because the idea of a trade involving Brooks really can’t be summarily dismissed until he signs a contract extension and we’re still waiting on that.
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Seattle, WA
Who will be the next Seahawks owner? One possible bidder invests in the 49ers
The Seattle Seahawks’ new ownership group may be just like the old one: a team of basketball owners.
In addition to being the first known bidders for the Seahawks, Mittal and Grousbeck were the only names listed on their letter of interest to the Allen Estate. Since Mittal lives in London, Grousbeck would likely be running operations from Seattle and live there part-time, as per Sportico.
But wait, there’s more.
Vinod Khosla, an investor in the division rival San Francisco 49ers, has also been named as a potential buyer. Last year, Khosla was one of a few nearby investors to purchase equity in the 49ers, with the team’s total valuation reaching north of $8.5 billion at the time. The specifics of the individual stakes were not made public, but Sportico reports that Khosla’s was the largest of the group.
The Seahawks are valued at just under $7 billion, but they will likely be sold for more. If Khosla were to purchase the team from Jody Allen, he would obviously need to sell his stake in the Niners. This type of move is becoming increasingly common in today’s NFL, which has seen former Pittsburgh Steelers minority owners David Tepper and Josh Harris acquire the Panthers and Commanders, respectively.
Harris, who bought a controlling interest in the Commanders in 2023, purchased the team from Dan Snyder for over $6 billion, the largest figure for such an acquisition for an NFL franchise. No matter who ends up purchasing the Seahawks from the Allen Estate, Harris’s record will surely be broken.
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