As the jury trial of accused daughter-killer Faleh Almaleki moves toward its conclusion, one thing is certain. The 12-person panel will find the 50-year-old Glendale resident guilty of one degree of homicide or another. The real question inside Superior Court Judge Roland Steinle’s courtroom: Can Almaleki’s defense team somehow convince…
SALTING LEECHES Getting rid of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his fellow brigands may prove more difficult than ousting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from power. At least Mubarak, in the wake of massive protests, has agreed to relinquish his dictatorial hold within six months’ time, ending 30 years of…
Maricopa County Superior Court judge Susan Brnovich today declared a mistrial in the case of a white-on-brown killing that occurred May 6, 2010 in South Phoenix. This, after an all-white jury was unable to reach a verdict.Gary Kelley, 50, was charged with second degree murder and aggravated assault in the…
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:…
State Representative Steve Farley, D-Tucson, plans to amend his proposed 300 percent tax on medical marijuana, lowering the tax rate to 100 percent of the retail cost. The amendment, which hasn’t yet been posted online, also details where the new revenue would go. Farley’s assistant tells New Times that the…
A fatal traffic accident in Phoenix this morning turned out to be something far more sinister. Phoenix police now say that a woman thought to have been killed in the wreck was actually murdered by her 16-year-old son before he got behind the wheel and crashed into a pickup truck.According…
A rare and endangered ocelot was sighted in southern Arizona this week — and, believe it or not, the Arizona Game and Fish Department didn’t capture and kill the animal. As few animal lovers will soon forget, Game and Fish euthanized a magnificent specimen of a jaguar, “Macho B,” after mistakenly concluding that the big…
Freshman Republinut state Senator Steve Smith, the guy who knocked off Democrat Rebecca Rios in District 23 last year, longs to make a name for himself on the backs of impoverished and ill undocumented immigrants.Indeed, in a Q & A with AZCentral.com during his candidacy, he pretty much assured readers…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office agreed this morning to a new trial for a man convicted in 1998 murder of his then-girlfriend’s child. Superior Court Judge Glenn Davis vacated Armando Castillo’s conviction per the agreement and ordered a new trial as well as a status hearing to be held on…
The next time 33-year-old Tanya Leathers, a.k.a. Tanya Nareau, is rummaging around her house looking for something of value to trade for a gun, she may want to consider something other than her 2-year-old daughter.Leathers was sentenced today in Maricopa County Superior Court to two concurrent 1.5-year prison sentences after…
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public’s help in tracking down an alleged pervert, who authorities say sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl.PCSO deputies got a call Monday afternoon saying the 13-year-old victim was sexually assaulted by 25-year-old Juan Carlos Cuadros-Ortiz…
The jurors in the murder trial of Gary Thomas Kelly, the Phoenix man who killed his Hispanic neighbor after apparently getting drunk and spouting off some racial slurs, couldn’t reach a verdict, Maricopa Superior Court officials announced this morning. In May of last year, Kelly allegedly shot his neighbor, Juan…
Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords wanted toast for breakfast this morning, and that’s reportedly what she verbally told those caring for her at a Houston hospital this morning.CBS’ The Early Show, and Politico have both confirmed that Giffords is speaking again as she continues to make a miraculous recovery after being shot…
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik has nearly become a household name across the country following his emotional, public statements that talk radio and “vitriol” spurred the January 8 Tucson massacre. Right-wingers were driven to a frenzy by the implication that their side’s rhetoric somehow caused Jared Loughner to shoot 20 people. A campaign to…
As you likely know by now, state Senate President Russell Pearce’s unconstitutional, un-American, immoral, and illegal effort to undermine the birthright citizenship provision of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ran into a double buzz-saw Monday in the state Senate judiciary committee, chaired by Republican Ron Gould.Senator Gould is…
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public’s help in tracking down a missing Cave Creek man.Henry Morello, 84, was last seen in the Cave Creek area. He drives a pale green 2007 Lexus SUV with Arizona license plate 207-YXG…
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has an actual hero on his hands.Last week, Pinal County Sheriff’s Deputy Robert Taylor saved two people’s lives before most of us sat down for lunch.About 11:30 a.m. last Thursday, the PCSO got a call about a baby who was choking. In the chaos, the…
The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office announced yesterday that the deaths of a Goodyear man and his ex-girlfriend last week have been ruled a murder-suicide.The bodies of 43-year-old Thomas Watson and his ex-girlfriend, 31-year-old Tara Shermerhorn, were found dead inside Watson’s truck south of Horse Thief Basin just after 10 a.m…
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:…
Right to free speech: Canceled.At least, it is for Joe Miller, a former Mohave County probation officer who believes that marijuana should be legalized.As the Huffington Post reports today, Miller was fired on December 10th for being one of 32 people who signed a letter by Law Enforcement Against Prohibition…
Andrew Thomas, former Maricopa County Attorney, aspires to be one of the wealthiest ex-politicians in the United States, it would seem by his latest legal claim.The Arizona Republic reports that Thomas has filed a $23.5 million claim against the state, on top of the $23.5 million claim he already filed…
At a ceremony at Phoenix City Hall this afternoon, city officials honored more than 70 municipal employees who died over the last year. Phoenix police Sergeant Sean Drenth was not on the list.Drenth’s body was found shot to death near the State Capitol — next to his police cruiser –…
