Investigators
Investigator - r3 Owner
Richard R. Robertson, CLI
Rich Robertson, CLI, has been a state license investigator since 2000, leading hundreds of complex criminal and civil cases, including numerous death penalty cases at the trial, sentencing, and post-conviction levels. He is a Certified Legal Investigator (CLI).
He was honored in 2017 by Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice – the criminal defense bar – with the John J. Flynn Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the only non-attorney in the organization’s 38-year history to receive the award.
Mr. Robertson served on the Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Private Investigator & Security Guard Hearing Board, which deals with licensing and regulatory matters. He was appointed to a five-year term in 2016 and was chairman from 2019 to 2021.
He is a frequent speaker and instructor on investigative topics, and he has conducted CLE programs for attorneys. His expertise is public records. He has testified as an expert on private investigations. To become designated as a Certified Legal Investigator in 2012, he underwent a rigorous written and oral testing process in civil and criminal law, administered by the professional certification board of the National Association of Legal Investigators.
Previously, Mr. Robertson was a print and broadcast journalist in Arizona for 28 years, including two decades with The Arizona Republic, where he was on the investigative team, and city editor. He was the editor of three Republic investigative projects that were finalists for Pulitzer prizes. He was also an Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter for KPHO-TV (Channel 5) and KPNX-TV (Channel 12).
He is a former president of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators; editor of The Legal Investigator, a quarterly educational journal published by the National Association of Legal Investigators; active in the Justice Project, which re-evaluates criminal cases for proof of actual innocence or manifest injustice; and on the legislative committee of Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice.
Investigator - R3 operations manager
Christina Dougherty
Christina Dougherty has been a licensed private investigator since 2002, handling criminal, civil, and corporate investigations. She has worked on state and federal misdemeanor and felony criminal defense cases, everything from complex sexual assault to white-collar financial crime. She conducts internet investigations and writes profiles; performs background investigations; and offers attorney services and litigation support, including testifying in court. In one high-profile case, her work led to charges being dropped in 2016 against the alleged Phoenix Freeway Shooter. Leslie Merritt’s arrest made national news after a string of shootings on Interstate 10 and other Valley freeways between August and September, 2015, but the investigation proved he was wrongly accused.
Ms. Dougherty, an Arizona native, graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in business.
She is a member of the National Association of Legal Investigators, serves as the National Secretary, and serves on the Membership Committee for the Southwest Region. She is the former coordinator of The Legal Investigator, a quarterly educational magazine published by the National Association of Legal Investigators.
Ms. Dougherty served as the Managing Treasurer of the Arizona Death Penalty Forum, a professional non-profit organization that aims to abolish the death penalty.
INVESTIGATOR
Lindsey Robertson-Duran
Lindsey Robertson-Duran, an Arizona native, graduated from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice.
She worked for the Mesa Police Department for five years as a detention officer, and for one year, she trained officers how to use the department’s call-taking and report-writing systems.
As a licensed investigator, Mrs. Robertson-Duran locates individuals, businesses, and assets; helps with criminal defense investigations; analyzes and writes sentencing studies, comparing case files for patterns, factors, and insights related to defendants’ charges; and works on undercover investigations.
Further, Mrs. Robertson-Duran is a trained Confidential Intermediary. She can help birth parents, adopted children, and their siblings involved in the Arizona adoption process by accessing confidential court, division agency, and maternity home records that are otherwise unavailable.
Investigator
Jim Rozalewycz
Jim Rozalewycz has been a private investigator since 2003, conducting a wide range of investigations, emphasizing criminal defense. He is experienced in the execution of complex surveillance and undercover investigations. In addition, he is a highly experienced interviewer.
Mr. Rozalewycz spent 13 years in the behavioral health field, honing his skills in behavioral profiling and violence risk assessments. He has been a psychiatric/suicide intervention counselor; behavioral health case manager; crisis management supervisor; and outpatient clinic manager.
He also has extensive experience in providing physical security. Mr. Rozalewycz has conducted close protection details for state politicians and corporate CEOs. He developed the armed security program for Trident Security where he served as an Account Manager overseeing up to 100 security personnel across 15 locations in addition to serving as Firearms Instructor and Armorer.
Mr. Rozalewycz is a long-time competitive shooter with extensive knowledge of firearms. He is skilled in deploying handguns, tactical shotguns, carbines, and long-range precision rifles.
He graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a degree in psychology and minors in sociology and criminal justice.
INVESTIGATOR
Stephanie Robertson
Stephanie Robertson has been a licensed investigator since 2013, a certified educator in Arizona, and a former journalist. Mrs. Robertson locates individuals, businesses, and assets, helps with criminal defense investigations, and writes sentencing studies. She has investigated money laundering scams from foreign countries.
Ms. Robertson graduated from Arizona State University with a B.A. in journalism. She worked for more than 20 years as a print journalist, in various editing positions at The Arizona Republic where she wrote newspaper columns on education issues and was a member of the Editorial Board, and as an editor at the Idaho Statesman in Boise, Idaho.
Ms. Robertson has her post-baccalaureate degree from the University of Phoenix and her Master’s in Secondary Education from Northern Arizona University. She is certified to teach K to 12 and has taught elementary, middle, and high school classes for over 20 years, specializing in at-risk youth. She was an adjunct faculty member for Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, and Rio Salado Community College.
Investigator
Jeremy Voas
Jeremy Voas joined R3 Investigations in October 2019 after 15 years as a staff investigator for the Capital Habeas Unit of the Federal Public Defender, District of Arizona. Prior to that, he was a print and broadcast journalist for the Phoenix New Times, Detroit Metro Times, The Phoenix Gazette, the Sierra Vista Herald, and CBS-5 KPHO in Phoenix. He wrote or edited numerous projects that won state and national awards for breaking and investigative news.
Voas studied journalism at Dakota Wesleyan University. He is a former officer of the Arizona Press Club and current member of the board of the Arizona Center for Investigative Journalism. Most important, he once won the New Yorker magazine's cartoon caption contest.
Investigator
Donna Vangury
Donna Vangury joined R3 Investigations in November 2024 and has been a licensed private investigator since 2017, conducting a wide range of investigations, emphasizing background checks, asset searches, and locates. She has assisted in various undercover investigations, honey trapping, and surveillance assignments.
Ms. Vangury started as a skip tracer for collections, worked with the State of Arizona in the locate section for non-custodial parents, and worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration for more than 10 years after venturing out to develop her own business to provide legal support in the community.
She graduated from the University of Phoenix with a general business degree and a psychology minor. Her undergraduate degree was in general business with an emphasis on paralegal studies.
INVESTIGATOR
In Memory of Gary S. Phelps (1943-2020)
Gary Phelps joined R3 Investigations in September 2007 after 42 years in law enforcement. In addition to conducting investigations, he was frequently asked to evaluate cases and testify as an expert on matters involving police investigations, use of force, and prison-related operations.
His law enforcement career began with the City of Tucson in 1964. Mr. Phelps served 25 years with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, retiring as Deputy Director. During his tenure, he directed the department's criminal investigations. He was also the SWAT team commander and directed the department's criminal intelligence unit. Mr. Phelps developed the Governor Protection Detail.
After leaving DPS, he served as Gov. Fife Symington's law enforcement liaison. He served 14 years as Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections. There, Mr. Phelps directed all criminal investigations. He also worked with the FBI and the City of Phoenix on joint gang task forces.
He was a true professional and true friend. He will be greatly missed.