An Avondale woman was arrested yesterday after she claims her husband — with whom she’s had several documented domestic violence issues in the past — told her “shoot me bitch,” which she did, killing the man.Aimee Stensgaard, 27, admittedly killed her husband during a fight after the two came home…
Disgraced former Nogales Mayor Octavio Garcia Von Borstel, and his father, were in Pima County Superior Court yesterday where they pleaded guilty to corruption charges stemming from a scam targeting Nogales businesses.Initially facing multiple charges of bribery, theft, fraud, and money laundering, Von Borstel pleaded guilty to one count of…
If you’re a washed up, ex-celebrity, and you spend even a second with Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, expect the media to be there, too. Just ask Steven Seagal.The latest has-been to get some air time compliments of the sheriff: the “Motor City Madman” himself, Ted Nugent.Nugent’s been rolled out…
State Senator Scott Bundgaard’s attorney was in Phoenix Municipal Court yesterday where he pleaded not guilty on Bundgaard’s behalf to charges stemming from a February fracas with then gal-pal Aubry Ballard on the side of a Valley freeway.Bundgaard’s been charged with one count each of reckless assault and endangerment for…
The United States Supreme Court yesterday ruled that the matching funds provision of Arizona’s Clean Elections law is unconstitutional.The matching funds portion of the law was designed to give the little guy a fighting chance in state and local elections when faced against a candidate capable of raising a lot…
As of Monday morning, Maricopa County Elections Director Karen Osborne said the county had validated 10,356 signatures from petitions seeking the recall of state Senate President Russell Pearce. That’s 2,600 more than the 7,756 signatures required by statute from Pearce’s Legislative District 18.But if a recall election is now inevitable, so…
In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries:…
Dozens of community organizations have been hosting mayoral forums to hear from the slate of candidates running in the most competitive mayor’s race in recent Phoenix history.Most candidates safely cling to their talking points and offer little more than what voters would find on their campaign website. With cameras rolling…
The victim of a hit and run yesterday afternoon remains in “extremely critical condition,” and the cab driver who allegedly ran him over faces assault charges, Phoenix police now say.Phoenix police confirm that they believe that when 41-year-old cab driver Joseph Goldmeer ran over the 45-year-old victim, he did so…
There’s a new candidate for the Valley’s dumbest social media sensation: Glendale’s Keanu Yazzi.Yazzi got his ass handed to him in a street fight Saturday night, and video of the brawl (if you could even call it that) is currently trending on Youtube.It now seems Yazzi’s a bit embarrassed about…
As Oprah-approved “self-help” guru James Arthur Ray prepares for sentencing after getting convicted of negligent homicide for the deaths of three people at a sweat lodge ceremony, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are trying to capitalize on the publicity his case received — by comparing the victims of…
Darnell Dockett, the Arizona Cardinals oft out-tweeted defensive lineman, apparently was pulled over by police this morning. It seems they wanted to search his car. They must not have known that cops never search Darnell Dockett’s car without a warrant. Never.Dockett, well-known for landing himself in trouble in Twitter-town (lest…
A Phoenix man is charged with first-degree murder after police say he beat his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter to death over the weekend. In addition to blunt force trauma to the girl’s head and torso, police also noticed bite marks on the young girl, which were admittedly caused by her mother’s…
They say the marshal always gets his man, but there’s no guaranteeing the condition the fugitive will be in when nabbed.Take infomercial huckster Don Lapre, who made the not-so smooth move of failing to appear for his arraignment in federal court on 41 counts of fraud-related charges. After his no-show on Wednesday,…
A 45-year-old man is in a Valley hospital in “extremely critical” condition after he was run over by a cab yesterday afternoon.After running the man over, the cab driver just took off — and there might be a reason: he was seen arguing with the man who was run over…
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this morning that the matching funds portion of Arizona’s “Clean Elections” system is unconstitutional, meaning candidates in next year’s election will not be given taxpayer money to match funds raised by their opponents.Under the matching funds system, publicly funded candidates are given lump sums for…
Disgraced former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas already has blown through $100,000 in taxpayer money he was granted to defend himself in his upcoming state Bar ethics hearing, and he’s getting more.On Friday, the county agreed to continue funding his defense after his attorney, Don Wilson, threatened to quit if…
On Thursday, New Times filed a challenge to a recent 2-1 decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Lacey v. Arpaio, the lawsuit seeking damages for the wrongful 2007 arrests of Village Voice Media Executive Editor Michael Lacey and VVM CEO Jim Larkin by Maricopa County sheriff’s…
In the 24-hour news cycle, it can be difficult to keep up. We have the solution. Check back on Valley Fever every evening for highlights from each of New Times’ blogs. Today’s entries:…
The son of the director of the Arizona Department of Public Safety avoided being arrested this week by making a child support payment. Court records show that a bench warrant was issued for Robert Halliday, 31, (who shares the name of his veteran cop dad,) after he failed to appear for a telephone…
Adam Hollingshead, 32, of Glendale, found a shirtless 15-year-old boy he saw as he was driving near Thunderbird Park last week to be “kinda cute,” an observation he felt he need to tell the boy — several times.Not much harm in that, right? However, Hollingshead also asked the boy “do…
Hanging onto a 50-foot wall of rock on Camelback Mountain, 21-year-old Jonathan Gustafson looked down and saw his friend struggling to find a place for his hand. Clint McHale was hanging on below him. Gustafson told him to stay calm and that eventually he would find somewhere to hang on. “I am…
