A Peoria man who smashed his pickup into a bicyclist in 2008, then left the victim dead on the road, was picked up by cops last week on charges of manslaughter and hit-and-run. On October 26, 2008, Peoria resident Richard Markarian, 65, was riding his bike in about 3:30 a.m. on Beardsley Road when the pickup truck careened into him…
We’re beginning to sound like a broken record, but here’s the latest from Maricopa County Superior Court: Sheriff Joe Arpaio has lost another lawsuit.Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Robert Oberbillig today summarily dismissed Arpaio’s suit against the agency that provides healthcare in the county jail system. Arpaio had filed the…
We thought it was possible the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors had a conflict of interest in picking a new county attorney, with two of the five having been indicted last year. But the board decided today that it doesn’t have a conflict. Whew… what a relief. County attorney Andrew Thomas…
Nothing proves you’re a real man like killing defenseless kittens. Cops are accusing Richard Thomas Routin, 25, of stealing three of his ex-girlfriend’s kitties during a nasty fight, then killing them and dumping their bodies in trash cans. Routin also sexually assaulted the woman in her trailer home during the Easter…
It may seem like Don Stapley’s troubles are about over, but Stapley sure doesn’t think so. The embattled chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors mailed a new fundraising letter two weeks ago to his friends and acquaintances, begging for big bucks to counter the “frightening amount” he owes…
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will waste little time in finding a replacement for County Attorney Andrew Thomas, who announced his resignation yesterday so could run for state Attorney General. The Board released a selection process timeline today with a tentative plan for naming a new county attorney as…
Earlier today, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced his resignation, declaring that he’ll quit the office to run for Arizona Attorney General. But the county’s general counsel, Wade Swanson, followed up on that announcement with a pointed letter suggesting that Thomas is hardly ready to be the state’s top law enforcement…
A birthday cake loaded with marijuana buzzed up two inexperienced teens at a north Valley high school this week, sending them to the office with complaints of “strange feelings.” The cake-and-bake incident began at Cactus Shadows High School about 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Scottsdale police say. Two students, ages 16 and 18, told officials…
The Gila County Attorney’s Office is recommending that a Nebraska-based attorney prosecute cases against Maricopa County Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox.The Gila County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on the appointment of Dennis McCarthy as special prosecutor at its meeting April 6, according to an agenda…
The stepfather of a girl who went missing in 2001 pleaded guilty on Tuesday to possessing 26 pipe bombs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reports today. Michael Turney, 62, (right) had reportedly planned to use the bombs to launch a suicide attack on a local union hall with which he had…
After coming up with a bunch of the dumbest bandit names we’d ever heard, the FBI’s bandit-naming department has finally hit the nail on the head with the name of the latest bank-robbing buffoon.The federal fuzz is currently looking for “The Mummy Bandit” — the man they believe is responsible…
Maricopa County quickly followed up on a threat to sue over a $456,000 bus bought by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office, launching a lawsuit in federal court today. Yesterday’s 4-1 vote by the Board of Supervisors should have given attorneys more time to negotiate with the bus company, Motor Coach Industries, before a…
A Phoenix mom, who plead guilty to the second-degree murder of her 4-month-old son, was sentenced to decades in prison today in Maricopa County Superior Court.The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced that 25-year-old Katherine Hatten got 37 years in prison for the murder of her infant…
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has authorized a lawsuit against a company that sold Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office a $465,000 bus But county officials still aren’t stating any precise allegations against the company, Motor Coach Industries. The company appears to be little more than a pawn in the ongoing…
After two years under a bogus investigation by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, state Attorney General Terry Goddard is fighting back with his own investigation. Goddard has launched a probe into Thomas’ questionable acts, the Arizona Republic reported last night. The article doesn’t get specific about what Goddard…
Maricopa County officials can’t sue the Sheriff’s Office for buying a $465,000 bus without their approval, so now they want to sue the bus company. Precisely why Motor Coach Industries would be sued over the internal squabble remains unclear. The county has maintained in this months-long bus battle that Sheriff Arpaio’s office bought the…
Phoenix police caught a disgraced former minister of the First Southern Baptist Church of Phoenix of masturbating at a local adult store, New Times has learned. We reported previously on the March 9 arrest and subsequent resignation of Gordon Christopher, the longtime employee of the 88-year-old Phoenix church; cops have finally released the details. It turns…
The claim against Maricopa County by Supervisor Don Stapley, and other similar claims expected to roll in, will be handled outside the county’s “chain of command,” says County Manager David Smith. In response to questions raised by New Times yesterday, Smith agreed that Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox and other county…
In preparation of filing a legal claim, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe is demanding that county officials preserve all evidence related to the investigation against him. A letter from Michael Manning, the local lawyer Donahoe has hired to represent him, states that “it is anticipated that legal action will…
Image: Ray Stern It seems likely that Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, (seen here with husband, Earl, and attorney Colin Campbell), will file a claim against the county like Don Stapley did last week. The malicious prosecution claim filed against Maricopa County by Don Stapley, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors,…
A San Diego man was ridin’ dirty through Goodyear yesterday, but Department of Public Safety officers cleaned him up.Rap metaphors aside, a guy got busted with about 17 pounds of crystal meth hidden in the bumper of his car…
For the last two years, Maricopa Citizens for Safety and Accountability have been on the outside looking in: The anti-Arpaio activists in the MCSA have been hassled, cut off, and even arrested at meetings of the county Board of Supervisors.Not today. Today the group had the floor for more than hour…
