The San Francisco Chronicle is out with a deep dive into a bizarre Sacramento stalking case that ultimately turned out to be the reverse of what police and prosecutors first believed. The story centers on Shawn Stewart, a recovering heroin addict accused of menacing his counselor at a methadone clinic, Bridget Adams. At first, the allegations seemed straightforward and highly credible: threatening messages, reports of disturbing encounters, and a vulnerable counselor pleading for protection from a troubled client. Stewart was jailed, and few in the system appeared inclined to question the narrative. But Matthias Gafni of the Chronicle methodically traces how that narrative unraveled under closer scrutiny.
Only after Stewart had spent 23 days in jail did a detective finally pull his actual phone and email records—finding no evidence he'd contacted Adams, and plenty suggesting that he was the one being harassed. From there, Gafni unspools a yearslong pattern of deception by Adams, culminating in her no-contest plea to multiple felonies and a nine-year prison term. As of the story's publication, she had recently been transferred from prison to a halfway house in Bakersfield, where she continues serving her sentence while beginning the process of reentry—still maintaining she was the victim. As for Stewart, a judge formally wiped his record clean in court, adding, "I apologize that this happened to you. Read the full story.
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