Crime & Police

The Chandler Police Department is looking for a guy who sped off after hitting a man with his car early this morning — an alarming trend here in the Valley of the Sun…

There’s a new bandit in town, and authorities have given him what is possibly the least-cool moniker since the infamous “Salon Bandit.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for the man it is calling “The First-Aid Bandit.”Don’t let the name fool you, this guy isn’t running around slapping Band-Aids…

Peoria police are looking for the person or persons responsible for robbing the home of a Peoria family. On the list of missing items: The ashes of the family’s dead son. Lindsay Grannis, the child’s mother, says when she came home yesterday afternoon, her garage door was wide open. When…

Back in 1987, cops say, Roger Cook blasted a guy with his .357 Magnum for no good reason. The single bullet killed 22-year-old Terrance Keenan. The young man’s friend, Richard Fair, dodged more shots fired his way by Cook, who was reportedly known in his apartment complex at 617 North Third Avenue…

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas says the county Board of Supervisors has launched a new lawsuit that aims to “destroy the sanctity of the grand jury.”We haven’t seen the other side of this one yet, but Thomas’ office says the lawsuit filed on Friday in Superior Court seeks to prohibit…

A couple of weeks ago, we heard about a demand letter received by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office from a local lawyer, Leonard Aragon, concerning the attempted prosecution of County Supervisor Don Stapley.Aragon insisted in his November 2 missive that County Attorney Andrew Thomas repay the money spent on lawyers…

The great wealth amassed by infamous Arizonan Kemper Marley Sr., who died in 1990, has ensured the man’s name will be heard — and seen — for years to come. The guy had ties to the mob and a generally bad reputation (except when it came to making money). He was implicated, though…

  Jonathan Antonucci, (at right), one of three suspects in a deadly fire at the Young Champions of America building in Phoenix, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson. Like Moniza Murillo, who took a plea in the case a few weeks ago, Antonucci got a break from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. The…

Stymied by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, County Attorney Andrew Thomas now threatens to conduct the investigation and possible prosecution of Don Stapley in his own office. Again.Remember, the first case against Stapley traveled from Thomas’ office to the Yavapai County Attorney’s Office. Then came the new case, examined briefly…

  One of three suspects in a deadly arson fire that destroyed the headquarters of a youth activity firm has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson of an occupied structure. Moniza Murillo, 20, (pictured right), had been facing first-degree murder charges along with two other suspects for the June 14…

Colleen Clark, the boozing president of the Maricopa Community College Governing Board, will serve 30 days in jail for her “super-extreme” DUI conviction. The Arizona Republic reported Clark’s sentence a few minutes ago, but we were disappointed to see which photograph the newspaper chose to accompany the article. Instead of…

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas didn’t suceed at first, so he’s trying again — this time threatening the county Board of Supervisors with legal action unless members consider appointing special prosecutors to conduct an “investigation” of those same supervisors. In a letter sent to the supervisors last night, Thomas’ office demands they put…

Maricopa County Manager David Smith wants to know whether certain employees at the County Attorney’s Office are writing anonymous blog posts and comments. Smith sent a letter today to County Attorney Andrew Thomas and several of his employees, demanding the blog information. He also wants those staff members’ e-mails to and from news media members and…

A Harper College fan who was punched in the face by a Phoenix College football player after a December game is suing the player and the Maricopa County Community College District. Jimmy Lee Renfro of Kansas City, Missouri, had traveled to Phoenix to watch the December 6 game between Harper, an Illinois school, and Phoenix…

You don’t have to be a lawyer to see that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office messed up part of its response to county management over the issue of hiring special prosecutors in the case against Don Stapley. The technical flub, which we’ll detail below, seems especially embarrassing for County Attorney Andrew Thomas…

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors voted today to publicly release a legal analysis that explains why County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ request to hire special prosecutors wasn’t being heard. Click here to read the eight-page analysis, which supports the Supervisors’ decision to leave Thomas’ request off the agenda for today’s meeting…

It’s been 50 days since the Maricopa County Elections and Recorders departments sent County Attorney Andrew Thomas notice of possible crimes by top officials at the Sheriff’s Office.The two county agencies believe several laws have probably been broken by the contributors to the infamous SCA fund, many of whom hold the…

  The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, tired of being sued by other elected officials, voted today to limit payment of legal fees in lawsuits between county departments. Nine lawsuits filed by county officials against the county, including eight against the Board of Supervisors, have cost taxpayers more than $2 million in…

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors won’t let County Attorney Andrew Thomas use hand-picked special prosecutors to target Don Stapley or other members of the board. Thomas’ office had asked the five-member board to approve his hiring of Joseph diGenova, Victoria Toensing — the pair of high-priced lawyers from D.C. — and retired county…

  You could say prosecutors are dropping like flies at this point: First, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas tossed the first Stapley case to Yavapai County. Then, after losing that case, the Yavapai prosecutors declined to work on the most recent potential charges against Stapley. Thomas then found the two D.C. lawyers and Phoenix attorney David Eisenberg…

A Pima County judge sentenced a Marana man to 17-years in prison yesterday for molesting three boys more than 10 years ago. According to court records, authorities opened the case in 2006, after the three brothers told their guardian that Arnold L. Geib, 73, molested them on multiple occasions when…

  The man accused of a random, fatal baseball-bat attack on two little boys playing in a park in December has been found incompetent to stand trial — for now. Joe Sauceda Gallegos, 39, a reported schizophrenic with a history of mental problems, became the only suspect after the mangled, bloody bodies of the boys…