Katelyn Newberg’s top investigative stories of 2025

From loopholes in government contract regulations to a controversial casino-backed court program, the Las Vegas Review-Journal uncovered several major stories in 2025.

Here are five of the highlights from investigative reporter Katelyn Newberg:

Deep dive into potential return of Resort Corridor Court

The Resort Corridor Court had operated for about two years before judges elected to end the program in late 2024. It coincided with a rise in order-out orders, which were court orders that banned criminal defendants from the Las Vegas Strip for up to six months.

Critics said the program targeted homeless people. A Review-Journal analysis of Las Vegas Justice Court data found that trespassing was the most common offense in order-out cases, and that a low percentage of defendants were accused of violent crimes.

Although judges chose to end the program, the Resort Corridor Court was addressed in a portion of a criminal justice bill backed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, which passed during the special session. The bill stopped short of requiring the judicial branch to reinstate the program, but it does mandate reporting of crime data from the resort corridor and requires judges to issue order-out orders to defendants who have committed more than one crime in the area.

Uncovering loophole in government contracts

A Review-Journal investigation found that former local government employees can form limited liability corporations to obtain government contracts, while still collecting a pension. Laws typically forbid government employees from collecting a pension while earning a public paycheck.

The investigation identified at least 15 companies that appeared to be run by government retirees who obtained contracts worth at least $3.3 million from state and local governments in recent years.

But a 2019 law allowing the Public Employees Retirement System of Nevada to withhold nearly all information about retirees collecting pensions makes it nearly impossible to confirm if individuals with common names also own companies that contract with the government.

County failed to review employee messages before reporter’s murder

In January, Clark County released thousands of messages that convicted murderer Robert Telles had sent when he was the county public administrator. The records had been requested years earlier by Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, who had reported extensively on Telles’ misconduct in the office.

Telles fatally stabbed German in September 2022 because of his reporting.

The records released this year show that Telles and a county employee exchanged hundreds of messages with evidence that the two were carrying out an affair. Clark County said investigators never viewed Telles’ workplace messages to confirm the affair.

Las Vegas gunman able to purchase firearm in state

In July, a 27-year-old Las Vegas man drove to New York City and carried out a mass shooting, killing a New York City police officer and three civilians in an office building. Police said Shane Tamura had purchased an AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting from his supervisor at the Horseshoe Casino for $1,400.

Tamura had been placed on two mental health crisis holds, called Legal 2000 holds, in Nevada. But those holds usually do not show up in background checks that could prevent someone from purchasing a gun.

The Review-Journal also reported that a background check on Tamura was “unresolved,” but that he was able to purchase the gun through a private transfer conducted at a Henderson gun store.

Neighbor raises concerns over police conduct

A man living in a quiet neighborhood in the southwest Las Vegas Valley raised concerns over police conduct connected to his neighbor’s home. The house in question is owned by a retired Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief and was occupied by the former officer’s son.

Police had been to the home dozens of times in recent years and searched it during a criminal investigation into mail theft. During that investigation, the home’s occupant told investigators his father was a former officer. The home’s neighbor also questioned whether the owner’s ties to Metro allowed the house to escape significant enforcement.

Metro Capt. Joshua Younger, in charge of the Enterprise area command, said he personally attempted to mediate the situation after the Review-Journal brought the neighbor’s complaints to the department’s attention.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240.