Archive for August, 2008
August 25th, 2008, 10:16 pm by Eddi Trevizo
Mesa police said a peeping Tom was arrested when he used his cell phone to take inappropriate pictures of unsuspecting women at a grocery store over the weekend.
Profirio N. Cecena-Espinoza, 20, was arrested Saturday after a witness saw a man trying to take pictures up the skirt of a woman with his cell phone, according to a police report. The victim notified store managers at the Fry’s store near Baseline Road and Stapley Drive. The managers took Cecena-Espinoza’s cell phone and found pictures taken of several women and notified authorities, according to the report.
The report said that Cecena-Espinoza was not able to take pictures of the victim; however, he admitted that he tried unsuccessfully several times before he was spotted by the witness. When questioned by police, Cecena-Espinoza admitted that he took the pictures “for the thrill of getting away with it,” according to the reports.
Police said that there were seven pictures in total and that Cecena-Espinoza will be charged with seven counts of voyeurism and one count of attempted voyeurism.
Posted in: Uncategorized | 10 Comments »
August 25th, 2008, 4:35 pm by Devon Hersom
A Chandler Jack in the Box was robbed early Saturday morning by three men who demanded money from the register and punched an employee in the face, police say.
According to Chandler police spokesman David Ramer, three men entered a Jack in the Box on Riggs and McQueen roads just before 4 a.m. The two male employees of the restaurant told the three men that they were closed, but one of the suspects cussed at them and punched an employee in the face, Ramer said.
After the assault, one of the suspects displayed a weapon and demanded money from the employees, Ramer said. The men made off with less than $500, according to Ramer.
None of the suspects were apprehended and no specific descriptions of the men were available.
Posted in: Chandler | 5 Comments »
August 23rd, 2008, 1:40 pm by Nick R. Martin
A statewide DUI crackdown collared 53 people on suspicion of drunken driving overnight, according to a statement released this morning by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. That figure raises the number of arrests during a three-week operation to 170. The crackdown began on Aug. 15 and lasts until Labor Day, with as many as 50 agencies participating statewide.
Posted in: Uncategorized | 12 Comments »
August 22nd, 2008, 6:23 pm by Eddi Trevizo
A 7 year-old was struck by a vehicle while riding his bike Friday afternoon in Apache Junction.
According to authorities the accident occurred at Meridian Road and 5th Avenue. Initial reports said the boy received several injuries all over his body.
According to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the boy was flown to Maricopa Medical Center to be treated for non life-threatening injuries.
It is unclear whether the boy was in a crosswalk at the time of the accident.
Posted in: Apache Junction • Maricopa County | Post a Comment »
August 21st, 2008, 9:00 pm by Eddi Trevizo
A suspected sexual predator arriving at what he thought would be a rendezvous with a minor was arrested by police officers waiting to catch him, authorities said.
Police said that Joseph V. Badaracco, 53, was arrested Thursday afternoon in the area of Rural Road and Guadalupe Road in Tempe. Badaracco’s arrest is the first in what Tempe police hope will be many resulting from the new Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICAC).
According to Tempe officials, the new unit’s mission will be to deter, prevent, investigate and prosecute predators who seek to exploit or engage minors in sexual activity through the use of computers and the Internet.
Badaracco is accused of attempting to lure a minor for sexual exploitation. According to police, Badaracco had several online chats with what he believed was a minor. He eventually asked for sex acts and planned to meet the supposed juvenile in Tempe.
Police said the unit investigates cases based on tips as well as initiating contact with suspects. But Tempe authorities would not specify if they initiated contact with Badaracco, or how long he was under investigation.
Badaracco was arrested on suspicion of five counts of luring a minor for sexual exploitation.
Posted in: Tempe | 10 Comments »
August 21st, 2008, 7:58 pm by Eddi Trevizo
A Sunday school teacher who sexually molested two young girls at a Chandler church, pled guilty to several charges against him Thursday.
Terence Greenwood, 63, was a teacher at the Chandler United Methodist Church who cared for youngsters at Sunday school. He was originally arrested on Dec. 21, 2007 for molesting a 5-year-old girl. However another underage victim came forward on April 15, 2008 and Greenwood was given additional charges of child molestation. The victims were abused during church services in a classroom for Sunday school sessions or at the defendant’s home.
Greenwood pleaded guilty to five counts involving the sexual molestation of young children, County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced Thursday. Greenwood will face up to 35 years prison time and three lifetime probations when he is sentenced on Sept. 24, 2008 in the courtroom of Judge David K. Udall.
Posted in: Chandler • Maricopa County | 3 Comments »
August 21st, 2008, 6:47 pm by Eddi Trevizo
A group of suspected gang members was arrested this week on suspicion of lying to police about a dispute that led to a shootout.
Police said that five members who belonged to the gang West Side City Crip, all between the ages of 18 and 23, were involved in a drive-by shooting with a rival gang on July 26.
Dominic A. Sagarnaga, Sergio A. Saenz, Axl W. Price, Martin U. Vasquez Valenzuela and Oscar R. Rios argued with members of a rival gang near Southern Avenue and Stapley Drive in Mesa, police said.
The two groups were preparing to fight when a resident of the home went outside and ordered them off his property. The two groups disbanded, but Sagarnaga, Saenz, Price, Valenzuela and Rios decided to follow the rival gang to their home to retaliate, police said.
Police said that the group, armed with a shotgun, got into a Chevrolet Impala and, along with four others in a different vehicle, went to a house near Hilton Avenue and Lazona Drive. Both groups concealed their vehicles and attempted a surprise attack on the rival gang, which was in front of a house on the street. However, West Side City Crip members were spotted and were shot at, police said. One of them was wounded, and the two cars drove off.
Rios directed the driver, Saenz, to turn the vehicle around. Rios opened fire on the area where the rival gang had congregated, but was shot in the face by a neighborhood resident who feared the gang was endangering innocent residents, according to police reports.
Rios told the driver that he needed medical treatment and that they need to hide their guns before heading to a hospital. The guns were dumped at Emerald Park near Harris Drive and Hilton Avenue in Mesa.
Police said the group arrived at Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa and told police they had been victims in a drive-by shooting, however they later admitted that they had been involved in the shooting and that Rios was the shooter.
All members were arrested late Wednesday night on suspicion of hindering prosecution in the first degree, assisting a criminal street gang, tampering with physical evidence and drive-by shooting, authorities said.
According to police, members of the rival gang who opened fire have not been identified.
Posted in: Mesa | 24 Comments »
August 21st, 2008, 5:59 pm by Katie McDevitt
Police found a suspected sexual predator hiding in a closet on Wednesday and a missing 14-year-old New Mexico girl who is pregnant with his child.
Frank Lerma Gamez, 37, of Mesa was arrested in the 300 block of East 10th Avenue about 1 a.m., police said. Police first learned about Gamez earlier this week when a woman saw a teenage girl in an apartment complex who looked like a girl on a missing persons poster in a local store.
Police went to the apartment complex and found a 14-year-old who at first denied her real name, but eventually told officers. Police confirmed that the girl was listed as a runaway juvenile from New Mexico and learned that she is six months pregnant, and she admitted that Gamez is the baby’s father.
Investigators figured out that the girl met Gamez on the Internet and the two sent text messages to each other. Gamez bought the girl a bus ticket to Arizona, and she has lived with him ever since, police said.
After Gamez was arrested, police learned he also has a warrant in Colorado for a similar incident involving a 16-year-old.
When police found Gamez in a closet, he at first refused to come out, but was zapped with a Taser and taken into custody. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries he suffered while trying to flee police.
Gamez was released from the hospital and booked into Mesa City Jail on three counts of sexual conduct with a minor, one count of unlawful imprisonment, one count of resisting arrest and one count of aggravated assault on a police officer.
Posted in: Mesa | 7 Comments »
August 21st, 2008, 5:02 pm by Nick R. Martin
 Chandler police Sgt. Tom Lovejoy, acquitted last week of animal cruelty in the death of his police dog, has hired a high-powered Phoenix attorney to consider suing the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office because of his arrest.
Lovejoy (pictured left) confirmed late Wednesday he recently hired Michael Manning, an attorney with a history of filing — and often winning — high-profile lawsuits against the sheriff’s office and other agencies. Manning is currently representing two executives of the Phoenix New Times newspaper in a wrongful arrest lawsuit against the sheriff and county attorney. He is also representing the family of Carol Gotbaum, a woman who died in Phoenix police custody at Sky Harbor International Airport last year.
Manning could not be reached for comment Thursday, but his retention by Lovejoy signals that the Chandler sergeant is serious about the possibility of suing the county for his arrest and prosecution. In an exclusive interview earlier this week, Lovejoy said he still believes he was arrested to draw international media attention to Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The sheriff and his spokesmen have strongly denied the allegation.
UPDATE (5:02 p.m.): In a phone call this afternoon, Mike Manning said he and Lovejoy have not yet decided whether to bring a suit. There are a lot of elements at play that his firm must look at before he recommends anything to the sergeant, he said.
“Certainly what happened to him is inconsistent with the way the sheriff’s department has handled other similar deaths of dogs in their care,” Manning said. “It’s pretty clear that Sheriff Arpaio was treating this as an opportunity for press splash.”
Posted in: Chandler • Maricopa County • Phoenix | 24 Comments »
August 21st, 2008, 2:06 pm by Katie McDevitt
Trinity Christian Fellowship is collecting donations for Ana Herrera and her six children who lost their mobile home and belongings in a fire on Wednesday morning.
To make a donation in person go to 50 S. McQueen in Chandler from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday. To mail a donation, send it to P.O. Box 1478 Chandler, AZ 85224.
For more information go to www.tcfchandler.org or call (480) 963-7698.
Posted in: Chandler | Post a Comment »
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