Cop Shop

One of two 14-year-old boys accused of inappropriately touching girls and exposing themselves to fellow students at Desert Arroyo Middle School, was found guilty of public indecency-related charges and the other boy will know in September if he is found guilty of harsher offenses.One of the boys admitted to two misdemeanor counts of attempted indecent exposure to a minor and was found guilty at a hearing June 19 by Maricopa County Juvenile Court Judge Luis Araneta, according to court records.Under a plea agreement, a felony charge of sex abuse against the boy was dismissed, and he is required to participate in a psychological evaluation to be reviewed by the judge at the time of his disposition hearing (sentencing) next month. He also could be ordered to submit to a physical, psychiatric and psychological examination if directed by his probation officer, according to the court documents.The other boy, who was described as popular by fellow students who were interviewed by Scottsdale police, was charged with eight counts of sexual abuse, one count each of child molestation, attempted sexual conduct with a minor, disorderly conduct and assault, and two counts each of public sexual indecency and indecent exposure. Some of the charges are felonies.The boy appeared with his family and the Rev. Oscar Tillman, president of the Maricopa County Chapter of the NAACP before Judge James Keppel for an adjudication hearing on Tuesday. But Keppel rescheduled the hearing for September to allow the boy

Flames erupted from electrical lines in Mesa Monday, igniting a car on fire after a driver pushed the gas pedal instead of the brakes near Greenfield and Broadway roads, police said.A car was exiting the bank on the west side of Greenfield Road about 4:45 p.m. and was about to make a left-hand turn to head north on Greenfield Road, police said, but the driver pushed the accelerator instead of the brakes and lost control.The car then struck a utility pole, sparking a fire.Police said the driver escaped from the car with only a few minor scrapes.

Mesa Police Department is holding its monthly operations CompStat meeting Thursday in Mesa at the East Valley Institute of Technology, located at 1601 W. Main Street.The four-hour meeting begins at 10 a.m. and will address crime trends in each of the four districts in the city.Police will discuss the problem areas and solutions for stopping certain crimes.For more information call Mesa police at (480) 644-2324

A federal jury in Phoenix has convicted a Paradise Valley man and his California business partner on eight charges related to a pornographic e-mail spam operation.James Schaffer, 41, of Paradise Valley and Jeffrey Kilbride, 41, of Venice, Calif., were found guilty Monday of transporting obscene materials, fraud, money laundering and conspiracy for the operation they started in 2003. The two sent e-mails with links to pornographic Web sites to hundreds of thousands of people, Assistant Attorney General Alice Fischer said. Prosecutors said that every time someone followed a link to a Web site, Schaffer and Kilbride earned a commission. They were paid more than $2 million, which they moved in and out of the country to conceal the proceeds, Fischer said. Witnesses from AOL and the Federal Trade Commission said more than 660,000 complaints were received due to the spam. Sentencing is set for Sept. 24.

The U.S. Marshal is going to place a Hells Angel member accused in the death of a Tempe woman on its list of 15 Most Wanted. U.S. Marshal David Gonzalez and a host of other police agencies have scheduled a press conference for Tuesday to announce the list’s newest member, Paul Eischeid. He is wanted in the murder of Cynthia Garcia, 44, whose body was found Oct. 31, 2001 in the Usery Mountain Recreation Area north of Mesa.

SWAT officers swarmed a Gilbert home Sunday after a man, possibly armed with a gun, threatened two of his family members.Police arrived to the home in the 4300 Block of East Encinas Road about 11:30 a.m. and immediately worked to evacuate the family members. Officers then geared up to negotiate with the man inside, but he surrendered peacefully.Wendel E. Jones, 51, was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct with a weapon and threatening and intimidating, police said. Several weapons were seized from his home, police said. SWAT and patrol officers, who spent several hours in the heat, recovered at a local school. No one was injured.

Authorities have identified the man who drowned Friday in the Salt River at Pebble Beach as Ommar Talaliof, 25, of Phoenix.Talaliof became distressed after about 10 minutes of swimming and then went under the water, officials said. When his friends noticed Talaiof had become submerged, they tried to swim over to him, but they were not strong enough swimmers.He was found in eight feet of water when a bystander pulled him out.Officials do not know why the man drowned, but authorities believe he was not a strong swimmer.

Police said Sunday that the prominent Valley figure who died on Saturday is former baseball relief pitcher Rod Beck.Beck, 38, died at his northeast Phoenix home in the 5000 Block of E. Ludlow. Authorities responded to a call of an unknown death and discovered Beck

A drive-by shooting Friday morning in Phoenix left a man dead and another wounded.Loren Jackson, 23, was taken to a local hospital shortly after 9 a.m., where he was pronounced dead Sunday afternoon, police said.Philip Beresford, 32, is still being treated for his injuries.Police said the men were standing outside a white SUV at 44th St. and Hidalgo when bullets flew out the window of passing a car and struck the victims.The car is described as a red Cadillac Eldorado with two men inside. Police said they may have recovered the car, and have identified two men considered investigative leads. The men were arrested Sunday for misdemeanor warrants by Phoenix Police Department

A prominent Valley resident died today, but it remains a mystery who the person is. Phoenix police said they were called to a northeast Phoenix home for a call of an unknown death and discovered a person dead and alone.Police said the prominent person has two young children who are away at camp, and until the kids are notified, the person