Unmasked how Black defendants received nearly four times longer sentences for drug crimes than white defendants and profiled the prosecutor with the sharpest disparities
Revealed the systemic problems with foster care oversight and rampant neglect at a group home, triggering the facility’s closure.
Exposed that the sheriff had moved out of Duval County, violating residency law—leading to his resignation under mounting scrutiny.
Reported for a decade on Matt Shirk transforming Jacksonville’s public defender’s office into a slow-motion scandal. I tracked a pattern of misconduct: Shirk hired women based on appearance, propositioned and fired them, drank in the office, deleted public records, diverted funds, gave away office guns and routinely violated public trust.
Edited an exposé on a lawmaker whose bill benefited her family. Traced campaign cash, shadow lobbying and missing records. Coached an intern through reporting, writing and legal review.
Edited an investigation into a spike in inmate deaths after the city privatized jail health care. Uncovered preventable fatalities, botched meds and a contract renewed despite the contractor's criminal conviction.
Edited story about a heart transplant patient’s death after jail staff ignored repeated pleas for life-sustaining meds.
Edited reporting that revealed Jacksonville police stripped a man in public during a routine drug arrest—no drugs found, no search reported. Verified unreleased bodycam footage, exposed misstatements and violations.
Jacksonville Redistricting Analysis — How district plans segregate voters by race.
Neighborhood Splits Interactive — Which neighborhoods get divided by lines.
Showed how City Council prioritized race—without legal justification—fueling federal gerrymandering lawsuits.
Exposed how a myth shaped district lines and diluted Black political power for generations.
Explained how Florida’s congressional map was designed to diminish Black voting power—setting up a landmark legal fight.
Exposed the record-breaking flood of dark money, mega-donors and loopholes in a heated mayoral race.
Uncovered a judge’s illegal political donations, leading to his resignation and reforms on election oversight.
Exposed how the governor’s handpicked commission shaped the court, limiting diversity and ideological balance.
Analyzed how Trump’s campaign pivoted to the suburbs—reshaping the state’s political map in 2016.
Exposed how dozens of JSO employees avoided jail or conviction after arrest despite felony charges.
Revealed police officer violence that fueled public distrust and protests.
Reconstructed the case of two men wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 43 years.
Tracked repeated discipline failures that let problem officers escalate to violence despite warnings.
Documented more than 100 sexual assault claims in Jacksonville’s jail, prompting policy changes.
Investigated a police union campaign to pressure judges into harsher rulings—raising sharp questions about judicial independence.
Exposed how legal insiders manipulated the process to secure a judicial seat without public election.
Revealed how a judge’s race lacked competition—despite the candidate’s performance issues and powerful connections.
Exposed judicial overreach—sentencing a man to jail for changing jobs while working 60 hours a week.
Showed how a “get tough” law meant for violent crime was used to send a nonviolent woman to state prison for shoplifting food.
Documented how a judge denied almost all bond requests for protesters, exposing arbitrary penalties and due process failures.
Covered how Jacksonville’s judicial commission grilled 17 applicants on ideology, with partisanship and “textualism” as the price of entry.
Followed young athletes fighting for scholarships—and a way out of neglected neighborhoods shaped by violence and segregation.
Tracked a 13-year-old’s descent into addiction and her fight to survive a drug-plagued Dallas neighborhood.
Rayne Perrywinkle’s story of loss and resilience after her daughter’s murder, told in her own words.
Followed Palatka’s push to spark eco-tourism and growth by reviving the Bartram Trail along the St. Johns River.
Chronicled longtime Brooklyn residents' hopes and fears as they awaited impending gentrification and the loss of landmarks in the historic Black neighborhood.
Broke the story of Edward Waters ending its faculty union by citing religion, fueling debate over labor rights at Florida’s oldest HBCU.
A look back after reporting 35 stories in a year that exposed dangerous conditions at a federally subsidized slum—sparking congressional hearings, federal reforms the complex’s eventual sale and overhaul.
Reported a series exposing how banks used predatory reverse mortgages to seize homes from elderly Floridians. Revealed aggressive lending, misleading promises and devastating evictions, helping one couple regain their home after an illegal foreclosure.
Exposed how a simple bank clerical error triggered a six-year legal battle and foreclosure for a blameless homeowner.
Charted Palatka’s rebound as poverty fell, home values rose and new leaders revived hope in a struggling county.