Sacramento sheriff’s detective arrested, Newsom aide plea. Top Bee stories for May 13
From a sheriff’s detective arrested after a multi-vehicle crash to a guilty plea expected in a high-profile corruption case, Sacramento headlines spanned crime, politics and homelessness on Wednesday.
Here’s a quick look at what’s making news.
- Sheriff’s detective arrested on DUI suspicion after 6-car crash: A Sacramento County sheriff’s detective, Richard Hamilton, was arrested on suspicion of DUI causing injury after a six-vehicle crash in Rancho Cordova on Tuesday afternoon. Hamilton was off duty but driving an unmarked county vehicle at the time of the collision, and he has been placed on administrative leave pending criminal and internal investigations.
- Former Newsom and Becerra aide expected to plead guilty in federal corruption case: Dana Williamson, a former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom and adviser to Xavier Becerra, is expected to plead guilty Thursday to federal corruption and tax charges in Sacramento federal court. The 23-count indictment alleges she helped lead a scheme to siphon money from a dormant Becerra campaign account, and the hearing falls 19 days before the June 2 gubernatorial primary in which Becerra is a leading Democrat.
- Homeless count climbs 13% from 2024: Sacramento County’s homeless population rose 13% from 2024 to roughly 7,458 people, according to the federally mandated Point-in-Time count released Wednesday. Most of the increase came from people in shelters, up 22%, while unsheltered homelessness grew 6.6%.
- Tom Steyer’s campaign pays influencers $10 a video to push his message without naming him: Gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer’s campaign has been paying social media influencers $10 per video to post content supporting his policies without naming him directly, according to a strategy memo obtained by The Sacramento Bee. The largely unregulated tactic instructs creators to keep posts “casual, relatable and on-theme” and offers higher payments for videos that reach certain view thresholds.