Valley of Shadows – Episode 3: Tweaker Talk

Release Date: January 19, 2026
Host: Pushkin Industries (Investigative Reporters: Hayley Fox & Betsy Shepherd)
Main Theme:
This episode explores how the disappearance of LA Sheriff’s Deputy Jon Aujay in 1998 exposed the Mojave Desert’s meth epidemic, highlighted the role of outlaw bikers, and cast a harsh light on a potentially corrupt, dismissive police force. Through interviews with retired officers, informants, and those close to the case, Fox and Shepherd peel back the layers of rumor and official neglect to uncover where truth may lie.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Rumors of Foul Play and Meth Lab Theories

• The search for Jon Aujay initially considered suicide as the most likely explanation, but many, including friends and retired officers, suspected something darker.
• Retired cop Mike Bauer created a lengthy list of street names for meth, underscoring how central methamphetamine was to the case and the community at the time.
  • “I began to understand that the world of trying to find John Ajay involved crystal meth.” (Mike Bauer, 04:14)
• The idea circulated among both law enforcement and local drug scene informants that Aujay may have stumbled onto a meth lab during his run and was murdered as a result.
  • “The rumor around the drug scene was that a deputy stumbled onto something he shouldn’t have.” (Chris Turk, 04:27)

2. The Role of Informants and ‘Tweaker Talk’

• While LASD’s Missing Persons Unit largely brushed off tips from informants as unreliable “tweaker talk”, homicide detectives like Larry Brandenburg took them seriously.
• Brandenburg:
  • “You’re not going to get a Boy Scout or Girl Scout that’s going to have information about the murder of a deputy sheriff.” (Larry Brandenburg, 07:29)
  • He investigated further when multiple informants recounted the same story: that Aujay was murdered after encountering a meth operation in the desert.
• Chris Turk (paralegal with deep ties to the local drug world) corroborated the recurring story from multiple sources and highlighted how law enforcement cherry-picked informant credibility:
  • “The same tweakers they said were not reliable… were the same ones that they used information from to bust other people.” (Chris Turk, 37:15)

3. Meth’s Impact on Antelope Valley

• Methamphetamine’s ravaging effect on the community is detailed, from widespread addiction to a culture of paranoia and violence:
  • “Meth is a powerful stimulant that hijacks the central nervous system… causes mind-twisting crashes, jagged nerves… a spooky paranoia, and too often unpredictable rage.” (Betsy Shepherd, 05:10)
• The Antelope Valley’s geography (isolated, vast, with military/industrial roots) contributed greatly to its meth problem, both as cover for illegal labs and as a workplace stimulant.
  • “The meth trade became an easy option for unemployed residents to make some cash.” (Betsy Shepherd, 28:10)

4. Case Mishandling and Institutional Failure

• The schism between Antelope Valley deputies and the main LA headquarters complicated investigations.
  • “Nobody from down in LA wanted to come up here and work because they didn’t live up here… You see why the drive sucks?” (Larry Brandenburg, 10:46)
• Brandenburg was repeatedly dismissed by his superiors:
  • “Oh, that’s just tweaker talk. Tweaker talk. That’s all it is.” (Larry Brandenburg quoting his captain, 36:28)
  • Yet a sticky note in the missing persons file read: “should this go to a murder team?” (Brandenburg, 38:38), suggesting doubts within the department itself.

5. Key Suspects: Tom Hinkle and the Meth ‘God’

• Tom Hinkle, local dealer/cook dubbed “Methaclaus”, emerges as a central figure. Multiple informants implicate him, and after Aujay’s disappearance, his reputation among the local drug scene grows, even adopting the nickname “God.”
  • “Everybody would call him God because he had that power. Before RJ he was just sinful. After RJ, he was God.” (Chris Turk, 31:08)
• Hinkle was remarkably untouchable by law enforcement despite significant evidence linking him to violent crimes.

6. Discovery of a Major Meth Lab Near Where Aujay Disappeared

• Brandenburg made the connection: a major lab (operated by Hinkle’s associate Rick Carroll) was busted less than two miles from where Aujay’s truck was found.
  • “It was extensive… underground tunnels, underground rooms… all the hardware, the glassware. This is a pretty big operation.” (Larry Brandenburg, 46:07)
• The lab's property included a shooting range with cop silhouettes as targets.
  • “There were silhouettes of cops that the people at this meth lab would take shots at.” (Betsy Shepherd, 47:08)
• A witness living near the lab reported hearing a single gunshot—the same night as Aujay’s disappearance—adding to the credibility of “tweaker talk.”

7. Systemic Problems and the Truth in ‘Tweaker Talk’

• Brandenburg and others criticize the department’s refusal to follow up on repeated, consistent informant accounts.
  • “If you just discredit everybody and you don’t follow up on none of it… you’re never gonna find anything out.” (Larry Brandenburg, 33:40)
  • “How many times do you have to hear it and not investigate when there’s something more going on here?” (Chris Turk, 51:52)
• The wording and spirit of Murphy’s Law is invoked as a metaphor for the institutional problems in the case’s handling:
  • “…humans are error prone…and organizations need rigorous safeguards to catch their mistakes… so things that can go wrong don’t.” (Betsy Shepherd, 51:28)

8. Bigger Picture: Bikers & Criminal Enterprise

• The episode concludes with hints that Aujay’s disappearance may be part of a larger network of organized crime, particularly outlaw biker gangs controlling the meth trade:
  • “It was mostly white bikers that were cooking this stuff.” (Larry Brandenburg, 52:26)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Brandenburg on departmental failings:

  • “Well, shouldn’t you have maybe looked into that a little more? I mean, that’s just my thought…” (Larry Brandenburg, 15:02)

• Sue (Informant), on Hinkle’s confession:

  • “Tom Hinkle brings it up to my boyfriend, tells him basically what happened to the man… he had to be taken care of. Care of, meaning he was killed.” (Sue, 16:53)

• Chilling clue:

  • “He made a hand gesture, like a gun with his finger out, and then opened his hand like he was dropped.” (Larry Brandenburg, 17:38)

• Betsy Shepherd, reflecting on the desert’s loneliness:

  • “It feels like we are on another planet and we are like the last living human beings.” (Betsy Shepherd, 23:38)

Important Segment Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 02:44 | Introduction of suicide theory and doubts | | 04:27 | First mentions of meth lab rumors & foul play theory | | 07:29 | Brandenburg discusses value and risks of informant info | | 12:40 | Brandenburg starts his own investigation | | 17:09 | Firsthand retelling of informant Sue’s interview | | 22:02 | Fox & Shepherd hike the Devil’s Punchbowl, test feasibility| | 28:10 | Evolution of meth culture in the Antelope Valley | | 31:08 | Chris Turk on Hinkle’s transformation to “God” | | 36:28 | “Tweaker talk” as justification to ignore tips | | 38:38 | Brandenburg finds post-it: “should this go to a murder team?”| | 43:19 | Discovery and proximity of the Carroll meth lab | | 46:55 | Shooting range with cop silhouettes discovered at lab | | 48:32 | Brandenburg links trail Aujay ran to path by the lab | | 51:28 | Breakdown of Murphy’s Law and departmental accountability | | 52:26 | Connection to outlaw bikers and expansion of the investigation |

Conclusion

Episode Tone and Takeaway:
“Tweaker Talk” is both a critical look at the limits and risks of dismissing informant intelligence and a chilling journey through the institutional inertia and prejudices that buried leads in the Aujay case. Fox and Shepherd skillfully blend the voices of those who felt overlooked or actively suppressed within the system, reminding listeners of the human costs of both drug epidemics and bureaucratic neglect. As Brandenburg’s bulldog persistence gives the whispers of “tweaker talk” new weight, the episode leaves the case poised to break into broader questions of organized crime and police coverup.

Memorable Last Word:
"So the more I looked, you know, the more I started documenting and… the DEA got involved to try to tackle this massive methamphetamine problem… and it was mostly white bikers that were cooking this stuff." (Larry Brandenburg, 52:26)

Next Episode Teaser:
The investigation pivots towards the role of outlaw biker gangs in both the drug trade and violent crime, raising the stakes—and the potential for new revelations—in the search for answers about what really happened to Deputy Jon Aujay.