Stephen Lemons

Stephen Lemons is a former staff writer and columnist at Phoenix New Times. He continues to cover Arizona news and politics for New Times with support from the grant-funded Arizona Watchdog Project.

Latest Stories

a man in a hat holds a mushroom

He’s Tucson’s ‘mushroom man.’ The feds may deport him over paperwork

By Stephen Lemons

a woman stands in front of a gaggle of reporters

Federal judge smacks Trump admin for bogarting Tucson murder suspect

By Stephen Lemons

two people hold a poster that says "justice for david denogean"

Murdered man’s family slams ‘shocking’ police communication failures

By Stephen Lemons

donald trump and erika kirk

Charlie Kirk’s funeral was a marathon of Christian Nationalism

By Stephen Lemons

Police identified, never charged suspect in 2022 teacher killing

By Stephen Lemons

a caricature of a bald man applying lipstick to kiss the naked rear end of donald trump

How kissing Trump’s ass won a Border Patrol leader a cushy job abroad

By Stephen Lemons

rodney glassman in an "air force" hat

Glassman touts endorsement in AG race that Yuma sheriff denies giving

By Stephen Lemons

in the style of the tombstone movie poster, jerry sheridan walks as wyatt earp alongside deputies with clown faces

The Arpaio All-Stars: Meet the county sheriff’s sketchy retreads

By Stephen Lemons

tom homan in a suit from the chest up, but the inside of the suit is a picture of a border wall

Tom Homan once spared Phoenix migrants. Now he’s Trump’s Darth Vader

By Stephen Lemons

a pregnant woman in handcuffs

Miscarriage of justice: Donald Trump’s war on pregnant migrants

By Stephen Lemons

a man smiles at night holding a video camera

Memorial for journalist Dennis Gilman set for Saturday in Miami, Arizona

By Stephen Lemons

a series of presidents-as-dominos — from bill clinton to george bush to barack obama to joe biden — knock into each other, pushing a trump domino onto a small family in the desert

How Clinton and Obama helped build Trump’s mass deportation machine

By Stephen Lemons

joe arpaio blows out candles on a birthday cake

We went to Joe Arpaio’s birthday. So did serial murderer Sammy Gravano

By Stephen Lemons

a rusted car in front of a wall with a postcard-style "Seligman" on the side

A septic tank in this tiny Arizona town could crack a 2006 cold case

By Stephen Lemons

a kid in spider-man face paint bashes a donald trump pinata

Protesters mark El Día del Niño by bashing Trump and Musk piñatas

By Stephen Lemons

rachel mitchell

Somebody mailed animal poop to the county attorney’s home

By Stephen Lemons

a mugshot of a middle-aged woman alongside a photo of her walking in police custody

Who is Lori Vallow Daybell? What to know about the ‘Doomsday Cult Mom’

By Stephen Lemons

body cam footage of a black man being tasered

Phoenix cops who beat and Tased deaf black man rewarded with day off

By Stephen Lemons

a screenshot from a 2016 teenage mutant ninja turtles movie

Tax Break Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Goldwater Institute’s hypocrisy

By Stephen Lemons

kayleigh kozak

Abuse survivor sues county attorney, calls her soft on sex criminals

By Stephen Lemons

a caricature of kyrsten sinema hitting a donkey pinata

12 (more) of the worst politicians in Arizona history

By Stephen Lemons

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