Cop Shop

It may be Thursday before authorities are able to identify two men killed when their speeding BMW crashed and burst into flames late Tuesday in Tempe.

The men’s bodies were taken to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office on Wednesday to be identified through dental records and other means, said Tempe police spokesman officer Brandon Banks.

The men were killed at about 11:45 p.m. when their white BMW lost control near University Drive and 52nd Street, jumped a median and hit a pole, Banks said. Witnesses told police the car was driving well above the 45mph speed limit when it crashed, he said.

Banks said the witnesses tried to help the men, “but it was just too horrific of the crash.”

A powerful New York family today demanded $8 million from Phoenix for the death of family member Carol Anne Gotbaum (pictured), who died last year in police custody at Sky Harbor International Airport.

Within hours of the demand, however, the city and police department said they would not pay, setting the scene for a lawsuit that promises to drag on for quite some time.

The Gotbaum’s demand came in the form of a 197-page so-called notice of claim, which state law requires the family file before it can sue the city. Written by private attorney Michael Manning, it blamed Phoenix for the death of the woman, who was the stepdaughter-in-law of one of New York City’s top elected officials, Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum.

Carol Gotbaum died in custody Sept. 28 after she was shackled to a bench inside an airport holding cell. She was placed there after yelling and causing a scene in an airport terminal. Gotbaum somehow got tangled up in her shackles and strangled herself, reports show.

In its response (PDF), the city blamed the family for making a “media event” out of the death. “The police officers extracted from the City of Phoenix a promise – if the Gotbaum family publicly accused the officers of being responsible for Carol’s death, then the City would publicly defend the officers,” the unsigned response stated.

Gotbaum apparently had missed her connecting flight on her way from New York to an alcohol treatment facility in Tucson when she became irate.

“The City of Phoenix police officers responded with professionalism and restraint to a situation not of their making,” the city’s response said. “The claim by the Gotbaum family is denied. It is denied by the City of Phoenix. It is denied by the individual officers.”

A 29-year-old man felt a tug on the back of his shirt and turned to see a gun in his face.

The gunman and his accomplice made off with the man’s black 2006 Chevrolet Silverado on Tuesday from a parking lot at 2107 W. Broadway Road in Mesa.

According to Mesa police, the gunman is described as a black man in his mid 30s, 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, bald and wearing a white shirt and blue jeans.

The accomplice is described as a white man in his mid 30s with a goatee and brown bushy hair. The truck’s Arizona license plate is 081XGB.

A Mesa man was arrested Monday afternoon connection with several burglaries, an aggravated assault and kidnapping was arrested Monday afternoon.

Rico Rashaad Barnes, 18, of Mesa is suspected of illegally entering a home on S. San Jose on March 13, and striking a female victim on the head with a firearm, according to a police report.

Authorities say Barnes is also suspected of binding the woman’s hands and legs and fleeing with several valuable items, including an ATM card which he unsuccessfully used at a machine later that night.

The second burglary was conducted on March 22, at 1112 S. San Jose while tenants were at home and asleep, according to the report. That home is located across the street from the first incident.

Authorities said Barnes is suspected of stealing several valuable items, including the victim’s car. Police located the vehicle on Monday at Alma School Road and 8^th Avenue. They arrested Barnes shortly after he fled from the stolen vehicle, according to the report.

Barnes was found in clothing believed to have been taken from the burglary on March 22. Investigators also gathered information and evidence linking Barnes to the car theft and March 13^th burglary, according to the report.

Barnes has booked on suspicion of armed robbery, aggravated assault, kidnapping, theft of a credit card, unlawful means of transportation, burglary, failure to yield to law enforcement officers and resisting arrest.

A fatal collision involving a motorcycle and vehicle occurred late Tuesday afternoon at Street and Broadway.

>A man described as a white, 24-year-old male who was driving the motorcycle was fatally injured, according to Tempe Police.

Authorities said the collision is still under investigation but that alcohol impairment was not a factor for the driver of the white Toyota Corolla that collided with the motorcycle.

Police said late Tuesday night that northbound and southbound lanes from Alameda to Broadway would be closed for a few hours.

Chandler police are asking for the public’s help in tracking down the killer of a 16-year-old boy.

etective David Ramer, Chandler police spokesman, said detectives are going to submit the case to Silent Witness, an anonymous tip line.

Callers to Silent Witness can earn a reward if the information leads to an arrest.

Ramer said it will be up to the Silent Witness program whether to accept the case.

Ramer said detectives haven’t been able to find any significant witnesses to the shooting death of Richard Gonzalez.

He was gunned down in front of his house near Flint and Ithica streets.

Ramer said an officer who was close enough to hear the gunshots arrived on scene within a minute and found at least 10 people around the wounded boy.

Despite the abundance of people, detectives weren’t able to gain information beyond a general description of the two suspected assailants.

A man accused of smashing a beer mug against another man’s head on Friday night, may face charges of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, and criminal damage.

The incident occurred at a Famous Sam’s Bar at 430 N. Power Road, in Mesa, authorities say. Eric Charles Neville, 27, is suspected of smashing a beer mug over a man’s head and repeatedly punching him on the floor until a bartender broke up the fight, according to authorities.

Witnesses at the scene said the attack seemed unprovoked and that the victim suffered several deep lacerations on his forehead and upper lip, according to police report.

Neville left the scene before emergency crews arrived at scene, but was later arrested at Banner Gateway Hospital, his hand had required medical attention, according to court documents.

A Mesa man had to grab his neighbor and push him out of his home Saturday after the neighbor allegedly threatened to shoot the man, then told him he loved him and walked into his home.

Police arrested Brian Scott Webb, 18, on suspicion of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass, court records show.

After the teen allegedly threatened the man, he followed the victim into his house, located in the 6300 block of E. Regina, and tried to go upstairs, court records show.

The victim told the teen to leave his home, but the suspect pointed his finger like a gun and pretended to shoot the man.

The man then grabbed the suspect and forced him down the stairs and out of his house, before locking his front door.

Police responded to the scene, where neighbors said Webb has entered other people’s homes in the past.

Court records show the suspect was under the influence of some type of substance at the time of the incident.