Stockton Unified trustee Flores can return to board meetings following charges: judge
A San Joaquin County Superior Court judge lifted bail restrictions that had blocked Stockton school board member AngelAnn Flores from participating in board meetings in-person following her high-profile arrest last month.
But the rest of the initial proceeding in the alleged embezzlement, grand theft and false claims case against the Stockton Unified trustee was postponed to May 29. During Monday's hearing, Flores' lawyer told the judge prosecutors had only disclosed the purported evidence against her client that day.
Flores' arrest
Sheriff's deputies pulled over and arrested the Area 2 board member in central Stockton on April 19 for allegedly misspending a school district expense card and allegedly submitting a false insurance claim from a "non-SUSD-related vehicle accident," according to a sheriff's office statement.
Prosecutors claim the alleged credit card theft exceeded $950, the criminal complaint shows. But they haven't yet said publicly how much in total they're claiming Flores took.
The inquiry into Flores has been ongoing since at least last April, search warrant documents obtained by The Record show. That's when the sheriff's office's Special Services Division took reports from two district officials about alleged credit card misuse by Flores and other board members, among other claims.
On Nov. 14, deputies seized Flores' devices and documents amid a search of her home, and also requested access to her social media accounts, the documents show. No evidence has yet been presented against Flores in court.
Unanswered questions
Flores' arrest and charging has reignited demands for information about an FBI, U.S. DOJ and DA's office investigation District Attorney Ron Freitas announced last April. At that time, Freitas pledged the investigation would target "any and all wrongdoing" at Stockton Unified after state auditors found significant evidence of widespread fraud at the district.
Flores' case is the first known action against a school district official for alleged misappropriation since Freitas announced the probe.
The DA's office sent no response last month to a list of questions about the status of the broader investigation.
Freitas was unavailable to speak to press after Flores' arraignment Monday "due to a scheduling conflict," spokesperson Erin Haight said.
However, the district attorney "absolutely" plans to speak about the status of the FBI, DOJ and DA's office investigation, Haight added, though she couldn't say when.
Flores' attorneys claim 'retaliation'
Attorneys for Flores claim the DA’s and San Joaquin County Sheriff’s offices are retaliating against the trustee for blowing the whistle on corruption at the school district — including on the misconduct that seems to have triggered the FBI, DOJ, and DA's office investigation Freitas announced last year.
Flores' attorneys claim that days before her arrest, the trustee notified Stockton Unified, the DA, and the sheriff's office of her plans to sue them for alleged retaliation over the November search of her home, and other alleged violations of her rights.
Flores is represented by San Joaquin County's former District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar, who lost her re-election bid to Freitas in 2022, as well as by attorney Mark Bowman.
When asked why she believes the DA’s and sheriff’s offices might retaliate over whistleblowing at the school district, Verber Salazar pointed to alleged overlap among the campaign teams that landed Freitas, Sheriff Patrick Withrow, and certain Stockton Unified trustees in office.
No evidence of these alleged connections has been presented in court.
"My client had a credit card ... with $3,200 worth of charges. About $130 a month," Verber Salazar claimed in comments after court Monday. "Her counterpart (on the board) ... had nearly $12,000 during the same period of time."
"The sheriff's office has already exonerated (her counterpart). It doesn't seem right," she said.
Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers government accountability. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Stockton Unified trustee Flores in court Monday following arrest
