Reporter

Jason Henry

Jason Henry is an investigative reporter with the Southern California News Group. Raised in Ohio, Jason began his career at a suburban daily near Cleveland before moving to California in 2013. He is a self-identified technophile, data nerd and wannabe drone pilot.

A family doesn’t let the Christmas week storm deter them as they wait for traffic to stop at the crosswalk at Plaza Park in The Circle in Old Towne in Orange on Wednesday, December 24, 2025. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The worst of Southern California’s Christmas storm appears to be over, forecasters say

December 28, 2025 at 10:32 a.m.

Evacuation warnings are still in place for communities such as Wrightwood and Lytle Creek, which saw significant storm damage.

An inmate bus returns to Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles in April. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

LA County can’t keep up with drug treatment demand inside jails

December 22, 2025 at 5:34 p.m.

Use of addiction medications in the jails doubled in 2025, while waitlists surged. A coalition of treatment experts calls for more funding from the county.

Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey, pictured here in May 2023.
(Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A year ago, Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall should have closed; here’s where it is today

December 18, 2025 at 4:39 p.m.

L.A. County now effectively has three juvenile halls instead of one — and all three are out of compliance with state law.

A radiologist attends to an inmate patient at West Valley Detention Center’s Medical Clinic. Sheriff’s administrators have hired more mental health and medical professionals to meet the needs of an increasingly sick and mentally disturbed jail population in Southern California’s county jails. (Courtesy of San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department)

Death behind bars: County jails embrace reforms to save lives, but will they work?

December 13, 2025 at 12:13 p.m.

Under pressure from consent decrees, lawsuits and grand jury recommendations, Southern California counties take measures to improve treatment of inmates.

Former Compton City Councilman Isaac Galvan. (Courtesy: City of Compton)

Ex-Compton councilmember admits to funneling $70,000 in bribes to Baldwin Park officials

December 12, 2025 at 4:30 p.m.

Isaac Galvan concealed his finances by having others pay his living expenses, including his rent, and then failed to report $600,000 in income to the IRS.

In this Oct. 3, 2012, file photo, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies inspect a cell block at the Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles. Conditions have gotten so bad in Los Angeles County that California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit in September against the Sheriff’s Department for inhumane treatment of inmates. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

Death behind bars: Who’s dying in Southern California county jails — and why

December 13, 2025 at 11:29 a.m.

Jail administrators in L.A., Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties struggle to meet the needs of a population that is increasingly mentally ill and physically sick.

LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES: A locked cellblock inside the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, 19 May 2004. Facing criticism over a series of murders in LA county jails, Sheriff Lee Baca invited the media for a tour of the facility and a press conference, during which he cited a lack of funding and understaffing as major problems in the county’s jails. The latest murder was last month, when authorities say an immate managed to roam the jail freely for hours before strangling a fellow inmate who testified against him. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Search the data: All 478 people who died in Southern California jails in the past 6 years

December 12, 2025 at 1:52 p.m.

This searchable database created by the Southern California News Group contains details about every jail death in the region since Jan. 1, 2020.

Urine in bags, reports of violence at reopened LA County juvenile hall, testimony reveals

November 24, 2025 at 1:11 p.m.

Youth detained at the newly reopened Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar are urinating in their rooms when no one is available to escort them to a restroom.

Inglewood Mayor James Butts Jr. and Melanie McDade-Dickens pose at the NFL stadium during construction. (Photo by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters)

Lawsuit from Inglewood mayor’s ex-girlfriend, assistant thrown out after 4 years

November 20, 2025 at 3:41 p.m.

Melanie McDade-Dickens alleged she was fired after she ended her secret affair with Mayor James T. Butts Jr. in 2018 and rebuked his attempts to reconcile.

Daniel Saldana speaks as Michael Romano, founder of the Three Strikes Project at Stanford Law School, and family members look on during a news conference at the Hall of Justice in downtown Los Angeles, May 25. (Courtesy of Susan Champion)

Baldwin Park will pay $19 million to man wrongfully imprisoned for 1989 shooting

November 15, 2025 at 7:58 p.m.

Daniel Saldana claimed in his lawsuit that police detectives 'fabricated' evidence against him and a 'coerced' a co-defendant.

All Stories