Reporter

Sean Emery

Sean Emery is a crime and public safety reporter for the Register who covers state and federal courts and criminal justice issues. He has worked for the Register since 2006, previously covering breaking news, the city of Irvine, the Orange County Great Park, and the city of San Juan Capistrano.

Location: Orange County, California, USA

Orange County Superior Court judge Israel Claustro, right, is joined by his attorneys Paul Meyer, left, and Craig Wilke as they leave the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Santa Ana on Monday, January 12, 2026, after attending a change of plea hearing. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Ex-OC judge gets probation for his role in multi-million dollar fraud scheme

August 27, 2026 at 4:09 p.m.

Attorneys say Israel Claustro's crimes occured before he was a judge, and were unrelated to his work as a prosecutor.

E-bikes are parked on a median in Garden Grove earlier this year. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

OC father to face trial after his son was injured while riding an e-motorcycle

August 27, 2026 at 9:40 a.m.

The boy was using an illegally modified e-motorcycle, prosecutors allege.

Friends and relatives of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell, who was killed in a police shooting outside a Ralphs grocery store in Torrance, held a candlelight vigil in 2019 to mark the one-year anniversary of his death. His mother, Sherlyn Haynes, places a candle at the memorial. (Photo by Chuck Bennett, Contributing Photographer)

Torrance officer once charged with fatal shooting returns to active duty

August 26, 2026 at 4:44 p.m.

The fatal shooting drew repeated protests.

A pealing pressurized tank that was made for methyl methacrylate at GKN Aerospace in Garden Grove on Monday, August 24, 2026. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office negotiated a claims program of up to $100 million for the more than 50,000 Orange County residents forced to evacuate the area surrounding GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems in May as the chemical tank threatened to explode. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

New $100-million claims program created for those impacted by Garden Grove chemical evacuations

August 25, 2026 at 9:45 a.m.

The details of the claims program -- including how residents and businesses can apply -- have yet to be determined.

Guy Miles celebrates with Jasmin Harris, director of development and policy at The Innocence Center, left, and his mom, Mabel Miles at Central Court in Santa Ana on Friday, August 21, 2026. Miles was exonerated after insisting for decades that he was innocent of bank robbery. The court ruling clears his name. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)

OC bank robbery conviction wiped clean for man claiming mistaken identity

August 21, 2026 at 4:55 p.m.

Guy Miles, who was released from prison in 2017 after 18 years behind bars, was officially exonerated for a Fullerton bank robbery he says he didn't commit.

Kevin Pearsall, then superintendent for the Orange Coast District of California State Parks, speaks following the christening of a new boat in 2024. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)

10 more OC lifeguards, park aides sue state, ex-boss over secret nude recordings

August 18, 2026 at 4:27 p.m.

Newly-filed lawsuit includes another ten alleged victims of former state parks supervisor Kevin Pearsall.

Homeless man gets life sentence for 2020 Orange killing at busy intersection

August 14, 2026 at 1:22 p.m.

Mario Anthony De La Torre pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the killing of Juan Murillo

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department Headquarters at 550 N. Flower St. in Santa Ana. (OCSD photo)

Former OC sheriff’s employee gets year in prison for forging grandmother’s checks, fraudulently using her credit card

August 13, 2026 at 6:45 a.m.

Roxana C. Laub, who worked as a uniformed correctional officer in the Orange County jail system, was also ordered to pay nearly $70,000 in restitution.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office. (Photo courtesy of Google Street View)

As OC fights lawsuits over harassment in DA’s office, the cost soars

August 12, 2026 at 3:14 p.m.

Current and former prosecutors who sued successfully allege that the county is dragging out the legal process after its losses by mounting appeals.

Jacob Melvin Hart was arrested in June 2025 at Miami International Airport while arriving from a mission to Haiti. A search of his electronic devices by U.S. Customs and Border Protection found 33 videos of child sexual abuse and approximately 160 AI-generated sexual images of minors, according to the suit and federal documents. (Courtesy of Broward County Sheriff’s Office)

Ex-OC church employee who secretly recorded juvenile congregants gets 40 years in prison

August 8, 2026 at 11:53 a.m.

Jacob Melvin Hart, 46, of San Juan Capistrano pleaded guilty to attempted production of visual depictions involving sexual exploitation of a minor and transportation of visual depictions involving the sexual...

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