No politicians will be charged with crimes for accepting gifts from the scandal-plagued Fiesta Bowl organization under the leadership of former CEO John Junker — but that doesn’t necessarily mean they didn’t do anything wrong (just look at ousted former state Senate President Russell Pearce, who accepted nearly $40,000 in gifts from the…
The Glendale Police Department says it now believes the body of missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley was thrown in a trash can in Tempe and may be in a landfill just south of the Valley.Glendale Officer Tracey Breeden tells New Times that the case is now a homicide investigation and that Jhessye Shockley’s…
Yesterday, the family of Ernest “Marty” Atencio, who was brutally Tased in Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Fourth Avenue Jail last week, removed their loved one from life support. According to the family’s attorney, Mike Manning, Atencio died Tuesday afternoon. Plans for services have not yet been made. Atencio, 44, was found unresponsive…
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery is holding a press conference this morning to announce the findings of an eight-month investigation into elected officials who received gifts from the allegedly corrupt Fiesta Bowl organization.It’s unclear what Montgomery will announce — the Arizona Republic reports he’ll propose a plan to ban lawmakers…
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, but Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio — at 79 years old — claims to be mulling over a run for the Senate seat getting vacated by retiring Senator Jon Kyl.Anyone who knows anything about America’s self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff” knows he’ll do whatever…
Maybe Iowa Congressman Steve King didn’t get a chance to read the Department of Justice’s scathing 22-page report on Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his agency’s historic racial profiling paractices — because that’s the only logical explanation for why he produced a Youtube video defending the sheriff, and is…
The Sinaloa drug cartel recently suffered what local law enforcement agencies are considering a “significant blow” — a 15-month investigation has led to the arrest of more than 200 people, the seizure of hundreds of pounds of various drugs, and close to $8 million in cash.Just how “significant” a blow…
Remember last year when a guy was arrested after Glendale police found what appeared to be the beginning stages of an underground, Silence of the Lambs-esque sex-dungeon being built in his back yard? Well, he’s going to prison…for a long time.William Willis, 46, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one…
A 19-year-old Phoenix man is in “extremely critical condition” after reportedly getting shot in the head while driving through a Phoenix park last night.Phoenix Sergeant Steve Martos says the victim and a 17-year-old friend were driving through a park at 3100 West Morten Avenue in Phoenix about 8:15 p.m. yesterday…
Mesa ranks seventh in the top 10 safest U.S. cities, says a recent data-crunch by Forbes magazine.”I think it definitely goes against the stereotype,” Mesa Mayor Scott Smith told Channel 3 News (KTVK-TV) in the station’s blurb on the report this morning, adding that some people think incorrectly that Mesa…
The ASU Sun Devils men’s basketball team has but one pre-conference game remaining to right the ship, and things are looking mighty bleak. We looked in on last night as the Devils lost their second straight game on a three-point buzzer-beater, this one 64-61 to a pretty good Southern Mississippi team. Somehow,…
Congratulations to the New Times reader who goes by the handle shadeaux14, you are the proud winner of this week’s New Times You Write the Caption contest.On Friday, we asked readers to provide what they think would be an appropriate caption for the above photo of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe…
As we reported yesterday, a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detention officer is sans one toe after getting shot in the foot by a DUI suspect — who was in handcuffs at the time — while he was assisting in a holiday DUI task force over the weekend.The officer is expected to…
Glendale Human Resources Director Alma Carmicle got a bonus and a bump in pay — at a time when wages were frozen for employees citywide — and was allowed to remain on Glendale’s payroll even though she and her family moved to Mississippi.The Arizona Republic reported that Carmicle “received a…
A man is dead — and a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detention officer is missing a toe — following a shootout on a Phoenix freeway over the weekend.According to the MCSO, the detention officer — a drug recognition expert — was part of a Holiday DUI task force patrolling Valley…
Federal authorities promised today to take up the slack in Maricopa County jails following the severing of ties with the sheriff’s office over allegations of widespread racial profiling. In a letter today to Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, an official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security vowed to leave “no gap” in immigration enforcement. Fifty agents from…
The following is a statement issued by Phoenix Police Department spokesman Steve Martos, regarding the arrest of Ernest “Marty” Atencio.Martos states that Atencio was arrested for assault after displaying some very odd behavior, as you’ll read. He also notes that the PPD believes its officers did not Tase Atencio. He further…
As you probably know by now, North Korea’s communist dictator, Kim Jong Il, is dead. In addition to being dead, the “Dear Leader” is also in a “warm corner of hell” with the likes of Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden.That’s according to Arizona Senator John McCain, who reacted to…
The Arizona Attorney General continues its inquiry into El Mirage and allegations that city officials used city resources to influence the outcome of an $8.5 million bond election on November 8.The bond passed with a mere three-vote margin.El Mirage provided some rather interesting responses to questions posed by the AG’s…
A Mesa woman was found safe over the weekend after being missing for nearly a week.Mesa police say Sophia Vargas, 28, contacted her family on Saturday. She’s apparently OK, according to Mesa Detective Steve Berry. Vargas left her house about 8 p.m. Monday night, when she told her cousin she…
Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and his former underling Lisa Aubuchon must be disbarred in order to restore public trust in the legal system, the State Bar’s investigating lawyer has found.The opinion comes in two documents filed today with the state Supreme Court: A closing argument and “finding of…
Jack Hegarty, the former boss of the Arizona Highway Patrol who was demoted in October, is being investigated for an allegedly unethical use of baseball tickets, the state Department of Public Safety confirmed today. The probe was spurred by a photograph (see below) of Hegarty and another DPS officer, Tim…
