Cop Shop

Tempe police Chief Tom Ryff will swear in nine new police officers 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Tempe City Council Chambers.

They are Matthew Barker, Kevin Mace, Laura Wysner, Kurt Buczkowski, Paul Elenius, Erik Hernandez, Martin McManus, Brenden Richardson and William Wehmeyer.

 Ryff also promoted three current employees.

Vince Boerbon and Ed Ouimette were promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and civilian Andrew Acedo was promoted to Records Supervisor.

As part of Ryff’s reorganization strategy, 62 new police officers were hired in 2007 and 26 have been hired this year. 

Mesa police arrested Robert Foster on Friday after responding to a call about an attempted carjacking in the parking lot of Walgreens, 420 S. Sossman Road. An 84-year-old woman told police that as she walked to her car at 8:15 p.m., a man approached her and grabbed her keys as she was entering her vehicle. Shem struggled with the suspect and he ran away after she started honking her car horn. Nothing was taken from the woman or car.About 2 1/2 hours later, police spotted a man matching the description the woman gave police walking southbound on Sossaman from Broadway Road. Foster, 31, admitted he was at the scene with the victim. He was taken into custody for two outstanding misdemeanor warrants and later booked on attempted robbery

Terry Tipton of Queen Creek was killed early Monday morning when his motorcycyle was hit by a Chevy S10 pickup truck that was traveling southbound on Higley Road near Pecos Road in Gilbert.

Tyler Lent, 18, of Mesa turned left in front of the motorcycle driven by Tipton, 54, who was traveling northbound, police said.

Gilbert police said they don’t believe alcohol or speed was involved in the collision, which occurred about 4 a.m.

A Phoenix boy died at a local hospital Sunday after his parents lost track of him at an apartment complex pool and discovered him at the bottom of the water, police said.

Police responded to the apartment complex located at 801 N. 59th Avenue after a 911 call was placed at 4 p.m. on Friday.  The boy was transferred to a hospital immediately following the incident.

The victim, Jesus Tapia, wandered into the pool after both of his parents thought the other was watching the boy, investigators said.

Tapia was listed in critical condition on Saturday at a local hospital, and he later died Sunday afternoon.

A motorized mechanical fire lit up the sixth floor of an office building early Sunday in downtown Phoenix.

The sprinkler system within the building helped to control the blaze as fire fighters arrived to the building located at 4520 N. Central Avenue, according to Capt. Hugh Chase of the Phoenix fire department.  The fire was extinguished by 11 a.m.

The building is used by Phoenix Union High School education services, Chase said.

Chase said the fire did not cause extensive damage to the building and assumed the water and smoke damage would be more of a problem to repair.

Only two people were in the building at the time, and they escaped unharmed, Chase said.

No other buildings in the area were affected by the fire.

After cooking dinner on a barbecue grill Friday, a Tempe teen left the grill burner on, causing a large portion of her duplex apartment to catch on fire.

The 13-to-14-year-old girl went inside her home, located in the 1200 block of E. Harry Street in Tempe near the intersection of Scottsdale and Curry Roads, after grilling the meal about 8:30 p.m., according to a Tempe fire spokesman.   The barbecue flames caught the patio roof on fire and then moved to the attic portion of the home.

No one was hurt, but the house fire displaced two families living in the home.

A 47-year-old Phoenix man died Saturday after he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into a wall at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport.

Phoenix police believe that Clark Bradley was traveling westbound on a turnaround near Terminal Four when he lost control of his 2004 Harley Davidson motorcycle.  The vehicle slid and hit a wall, launching Bradley over a retaining wall where he landed 12 to 15 feet below.

Airport employees discovered Bradley around 4 a.m. and called the authorities.  He was pronounced dead on the scene by the fire department.

Police are still unsure of the time of crash and are investigating the area where Bradley was found.  Police also believe there are no witnesses due to the how early the accident occurred.

The airport has reported no delays in traffic following the incident.

A Mesa man, who says he was a mortgage broker until the housing market dropped last fall, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of selling stolen property and drugs out of his home.

Court records show police found a 1990 Jaguar and a 4,500 square-foot home – located in the 400 block of E. Lehi — filled nearly to the ceiling with construction equipment, artwork, collectibles, antiques, computer equipment, electronics, jewelry and other valuables .

Robert Charles Borgerson, 65, is suspected of selling many of the items over Craig’s list, e-Bay and through newspaper advertisements, court records say.

Over the past few months, the FBI and Mesa police received complaints from various residents about a lot of traffic to and from Borgerson’s home, court records say.  Borgerson told police he is currently unemployed and has a monthly mortgage of about $5,000, so he turned to selling property online for income.  He admitted some of the items were stolen, court records say.