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Felony case against LA prosecutor spilled out of co-workers's boozy clash with cops: docs
The 11-count felony case alleging anti-police misconduct from Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon’s top ethics officer stemmed from the drunken arrest of one of his most trusted confidants, who recorded himself clashing with officers and interrupting their investigation, according to court documents.
California Attorney General Robert Bonta announced the charges against Diana Teran in April.
According to an affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital and Fox News, the case against her grew out of an investigation launched into the December 2021 arrest of Joseph Iniguez, who was Gascon’s chief of staff at the time and has since been promoted to chief deputy district attorney.
VIDEO SHOWS LA DA GEORGE GASCON’S RIGHT-HAND MAN ARRESTED IN DUI STOP: ‘YOU’VE PULLED OVER THE WRONG PERSON’
Diana Teran, the former head of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office’s Ethics and Integrity unit, pictured in an April booking photo after her arrest on 11 felony charges for allegedly taking and/or misusing data on sheriff’s deputies without authorization. (Los Angeles County)
Azusa police took Iniguez to jail after stopping his then-fiance in December 2021 for an alleged traffic violation and on suspicion of drunken driving. Earlier this week, Fox News Digital obtained video of the arrest – which showed him telling officers, “You’ve pulled over the wrong person, let me tell you.”
According to a police report connected to the incident, Iniguez threatened to have the arresting officer placed on the “Brady list,” although that exchange is not heard on the video.
The list is a database of officers who have been accused of wrongdoing and can be used by defense attorneys to discredit them in court.
Read the affidavit
In the clip recorded on his cellphone, Iniguez urged the officers to check his license plates, which could have revealed to them that he worked for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He admitted to drinking at the wedding and repeatedly interrupted the officer as he attempted to question the driver. Also during the encounter, he urges his fiance not to speak with the officers, a potential violation of DA policy and state law.
Iniguez sued Azusa over his arrest, alleging a federal civil rights violation, and received a $10,000 settlement, described by critics as a “nuisance payment,” last year.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon meets with media in Grand Park on March 5, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Myung Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
‘WOKE’ CALIFORNIA PROSECUTOR ‘IRONICALLY IN CHARGE OF ETHICS’ CHARGED WITH FELONIES
On Tuesday, the Azusa Police Department said in a statement that its officers fully complied with state law and internal policies.
“City of Azusa and Chief [Rocky] Wenrick stand firmly behind our employees and the decisions made during [Iniguez’s] arrest,” the department said.
But while looking into Iniguez’s alleged Brady threat, investigators say they found evidence against Teran.
An Asuza, California, police officer escorts George Gascon’s right-hand man, Joseph Iniguez, into a cell after a 2021 stop for public intoxication. (Asuza Police Department)
“The investigation commenced after an LADA official who oversees the databases threatened to put a police officer in the LADA’s Brady database after the officer had arrested him for disrupting a December 2021 traffic stop investigation of his fiance,” the affidavit reads. “Our investigation of that official led to the conduct of Diana Maria Teran, who was an LADA special advisor with constructive responsibility for the Brady and ORWITS databases at the LADA.”
TOP ADVISER TO LEFT-WING CALIFORNIA DA CHARGED WITH NEARLY A DOZEN FELONIES
According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Brady material covers criminal convictions, false statements and administration investigations involving dishonesty or “serious misconduct” against law enforcement officers. The Officer and Recurrent Witness Information Tracking System (ORWITS) is a similar but separate database with less vetting.
Joseph Iniguez sits beside his boss, Los Angeles County District Attorney 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)
Before joining Gascon’s office, Teran worked in oversight for the sheriff’s department and had access to more than 1,600 confidential files on members of law enforcement, as well as documents related to internal affairs investigations.
She left the sheriff’s department in 2018, but after joining Gascon’s office in 2021, allegedly continued to use material from those files, which she is now accused of illegally taking and accessing.
“Teran repeatedly used data from those LASD personnel files and internal emails and documents in a surreptitious attempt to add peace officer names to LADA’s Brady and ORWITS databases.”
Teran’s defense attorney has said he believes she will beat the state’s charges.
Iniguez has not been charged or accused of wrongdoing in connection with the case against Teran.
A still image taken from jailhouse surveillance video shows Los Angeles Chief Deputy District Attorney Joseph Iniguez making a phone call from lockup after a 2021 arrest for public intoxication. (Asuza Police Department)
“No one is above the law,” said Bonta, a Democrat, in a press release announcing the charges against Teran. “Public officials are called to serve the people and the State of California with integrity and honesty. At the California Department of Justice, we will continue to fight for the people of California and hold those who break the law accountable.”
Gascon previously defended his Brady policy and said he would cooperate with state investigators.
“When I took office, we developed a protocol that ensured we complied with our constitutional obligations under Brady, which requires us to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense, a category that includes law enforcement’s prior misconduct, while simultaneously complying with state and federal law around privacy,” he said. “I stand by that protocol.”
His office deferred questions on the Iniguez incident to his private attorney.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon is running for re-election amid harsh criticism and concerns about crime. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
Iniguez’s fiance, who was driving the car before the stop, was handcuffed but not charged, and authorities later dropped the public intoxication case against Iniguez.
He also came under fire in recent weeks after the district attorney’s office said it would remove the two lead prosecutors on a child murder trial from the case before sentencing over an apparent conflict of interest – involving Teran. He later backtracked, and they remained on the case after it was transferred to a unit Teran had no connection to.
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The next time the Arizona Cardinals take the practice field, it will be late July, inside the air conditioning of State Farm Stadium, as training camp gets underway. That’s when the pads will go on and when the arrival of a new season will feel tangible, even as it comes with muted expectations.
But over the past two months, head coach Mike LaFleur and the Cardinals began laying the groundwork for what their 2026 season will look like in 11 spring practice sessions — nine as part of voluntary OTAs, two in mandatory minicamp. Here are the key lessons that we learned during those practices.
Cardinals are healthier than expected
The Cardinals began their spring slate full of question marks surrounding the health of important starters. They ended with almost none.
Defensive tackle Walter Nolen is expected to be ready for the start of training camp, where he’ll aim to build off a promising but injury-riddled rookie season that ended with a torn meniscus. The same goes for tight end Tip Reiman, a key weapon in the run game who suffered a season-ending foot injury last year.
Cornerbacks Sean Murphy-Bunting and Starling Thomas V are already back in practice after missing all of last year with torn ACLs. And the most surprising news centered on nickel Garrett Williams, who has a good chance to be ready for Week 1 despite tearing his Achilles in December.
Really, the only negative on the injury front came with fourth-round rookie defensive tackle Kaleb Proctor, who suffered a torn meniscus during OTAs and could miss the entire season. That’s a big blow, given Proctor’s pass-rushing upside and the Cardinals’ lack of depth at the position, but it shouldn’t overshadow the good news elsewhere.
Rookies are being introduced gradually
In nearly every offensive position group at OTAs and minicamp, there was a trend: highly drafted rookies working behind unheralded veterans.
At running back, Jeremiyah Love worked behind Tyler Allgeier during drills. On the offensive line, Chase Bisontis worked with the backups, while Isaiah Adams operated as the starting right guard. And at quarterback, Kedon Slovis took reps ahead of Carson Beck, who would have been working as the fourth quarterback on the depth chart if not for Jacoby Brissett’s holdout.
It’s early, of course, and the order of practice reps in May and June is not always an accurate predictor of the hierarchy come Week 1. But it was evident throughout camp that LaFleur wants to bring his rookies along gradually — for now.
“I’ve always said, the rookie will be ready when the rookie’s ready,” LaFleur said. “With that being said, this league doesn’t wait around. So there’s a level of urgency that everyone’s gotta have.”
It will be worth watching how quickly that group is able to rise up the depth chart during training camp.
LaFleur’s offense will look new to Cardinals fans
Under former offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, the Cardinals offense was often stagnant. They had the league’s fourth-lowest motion rate and preferred to beat defenses with power, relying on heavy personnel groupings. At its best, it was a bruising, punishing style of offense. At its worst, it was staid and predictable.
Under LaFleur, the overarching offensive philosophy could look quite different. As players were asked to describe his offense over the course of the past month, one clear trend emerged.
“It’s a lot of eye candy, a lot of motions,” linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. said.
“Just the different things that we do with motions and shifts,” wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. said.
“They do a lot, moving around,” safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson said.
In other words: Expect the Cardinals offense to use motion early and often. That’s no surprise, given that LaFleur’s Rams ranked fourth in usage of pre-snap motion last season, but it will be new in Arizona.
Cody Simon takes lead at linebacker
When the Cardinals signed veteran linebacker Jack Gibbens to a two-year, $7.5 million deal this spring, it seemed as if he could step into a starting role alongside Wilson. But in spring ball, it was second-year linebacker Cody Simon who appeared to have the inside track to that job.
Simon, a 2025 fourth-round pick, stepped in for the injured Wilson last November and struggled at times, taking too long to react to plays in the middle of the field. But by the end of the season, he had gained an increased level of familiarity in coordinator Nick Rallis’ defense — something LaFleur took notice of when studying the Cardinals’ 2025 tape.
“There’s tangible evidence of him, within a game, correcting himself,” LaFleur said. “… And seeing the improvement from one play to maybe 10 plays later. And it’s like, ‘Ooh, he got it right there.’
“He understood that he could have been a little bit better and you saw that. … He gets football.”
Secondary filled with competition for starting spots
At the end of spring camp, the Cardinals’ depth chart has uncertainty at all three positions in the secondary.
With Jalen Thompson gone, Taylor-Demerson appeared to have the inside track to a starting job alongside Budda Baker at safety. Instead, Taylor-Demerson and free agent signing Andrew Wingard have been rotating atop the depth chart, with that competition seemingly set to extend into the summer.
At nickel, the uncertainty depends on Williams’ health. Murphy-Bunting was moved from outside corner to the slot this offseason and figures to be the starter if Williams misses time. But if Williams returns by Week 1, he will likely resume his starting position — so long as he is at his best.
And on the outside, second-year cornerback Will Johnson appears entrenched in one spot, but the other is wide open. Denzel Burke and Max Melton rotated through that spot during OTAs, but Thomas V returned from his torn ACL during minicamp. He, too, could push for starting snaps. With three players competing for one job, it could be among the Cardinals’ fiercest battles during training camp.
HUMBOLDT, Calif. — As Northern California’s recreational salmon season ramps up, the U.S. Coast Guard says they are increasing patrols to help keep anglers safe and ensure boaters are following federal and state safety regulations.
This marks the second recreational salmon season after several years of closures, bringing more boat traffic to the water as anglers head out in search of salmon. The Coast Guard says their focus during the busy season will be less about fishing violations and more about making sure boaters are prepared before leaving the dock.
“The majority of the violations that we see on the wreck side from the Coast Guard standpoint typically are safety here,” said Lieutenant Junior Grade Amanda Bourgeois with the U.S. Coast Guard. “So, less living marine resources and more safety recreational. So you’re looking at like fire extinguishers, flares, personal flotation devices, that kind of thing.”
According to Humboldt Bay Surface Operations Chief Scott Bock, some of the biggest violations seen during Northern California’s salmon season involve missing required safety gear and paperwork.
“It is imperative that boaters carry the required safety equipment per state and federal law,” Bock said in an emailed statement. “As a reminder, children under 13 are required to wear a lifejacket all times, above decks, on a moving vessel.”
Bock said officers also regularly encounter boaters without vessel documentation and registration paperwork onboard.
“It is also important that boaters carry their vessel’s documentation and registration paperwork onboard, similar to what you carry in your vehicle,” Bock said. “Last year, we saw numerous boats that did not have that paperwork onboard.”
The Coast Guard says the most common citations involve not carrying required safety equipment for the size of the vessel or the number of people onboard.
“Not carrying the required safety equipment, including lifejackets, fire extinguishers, and flares for the size of vessel and number of people onboard,” Bock said.
Bourgeois said the Coast Guard often works alongside California Department of Fish and Wildlife during enforcement operations, particularly when it comes to fishing regulations and living marine resource violations.
As for catch limits, Bock said the current recreational limit remains two salmon per person per day with a minimum size requirement of 20 inches. However, he said anglers should continue checking with California Fish and Wildlife throughout the season, as regulations can change.
While California Fish and Wildlife manages state waters within three nautical miles of shore, Bock said federal regulations take over farther offshore, though recreational limits currently mirror state rules.
Before heading out, Coast Guard officials are also encouraging boaters to check weather and ocean conditions, follow safety regulations and make smart decisions on the water.
“Our pitch in the Coast Guard is always please be safe, follow the recreational and commercial safety regulations, be smart about being out there, check the weather, and as always follow all laws and regulations,” Bourgeois said.
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