Cop Shop

Gonzalez

Campuzano

Martinez

"Austin"

Five daytime residential burglaries in the Gilbert area have been tied to a team of four teenagers, police say. Four of the burglaries were performed on the same day within hours of each other.

According to Gilbert Police Sgt. Mark Marino, one of the men, known only as “Austin,” has not been arrested. Of the three remaining suspects, two were detained by Gilbert police on Sept. 8 and one on Wednesday, Sept. 24.

During two of the burglaries, the homeowners returned while the suspects were still inside. One woman was forced into her closet at gunpoint in the first burglary on Aug. 28, allowing the remaining suspects to escape.

Three other burglaries of different homes occurred within hours of each other in the woman’s neighborhood near the intersection of Val Vista Drive and Elliot Road, Marino said.

In the fourth burglary, a man discovered the suspects in his home before 5:30 p.m. but was able to escape without being harmed.

On Sept. 8, the men struck again in a neighborhood less than three miles away from the initial burglaries in a neighborhood near Lindsay and Guadalupe roads , Marino said.

After an investigation of the crime scene, Marino said Gilbert authorities were able to track down two of the suspects on the day of the fifth burglary: 19-year-old Michael Gonzalez and 18-year-old Isaiah Martinez.

19-year-old Eduardo Campuzano was arrested on Sept. 24, Marino said.

Police are still searching for “Austin” and would like anyone with information to contact Gilbert police or Silent Witness.

Two vehicles collided under Arizona State University’s pedestrian bridge Monday evening after several students were caught drinking large amounts of milk and vomiting over the side into the traffic below.

A car slowed down to avoid the falling vomit when another car slammed into the first car’s bumper at 6 p.m., according to Tempe Police Sgt. Steve Carbajal.

A 6-year-old girl received minor injuries in the crash, Carbajal said.

The eight to ten students conducting the prank have yet to be identified and ASU police have been investigating the incident, according to ASU police spokesman Jay Spradling.

Spradling said members of an ASU fraternity may be involved but he could not confirm the name of the fraternity or whether the incident was the result of hazing.

Please check back for more details.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office was investigating the scene of a hit-and-run incident late Tuesday night after a person on a scooter was struck by a vehicle, according to deputies.

The collision occurred in Apache Junction at 8:45 p.m., deputies said. The victim was rushed by helicopter to a local hospital with head injuries, but police did not say if the victim was an adult or a child. The medical condition of the victim was not immediately known as of late Tuesday.

According to deputies, the roadway at Meridian Road and Apache Trail was closed while detectives investigate the hit-and-run incident. Deputies did not release a description of the vehicle involved in the collision with the scooter.

It is unknown when the roads will be re-opened, deputies said. No further information was released Tuesday night.

Anyone with information regarding this hit-and-run collision is asked to contact the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Check back at evtrib.com for more updates.

A teen accused of assaulting her school bus driver in February was found guilty of one count of disorderly conduct Tuesday.

According to judicial assistant Joan Weyrauch, 15-year-old Samantha Taylor (left) was sentenced to summary probation, which means she will be required to attend counseling, write an essay and provide a certain amount of community service hours. She was not sentenced to any jail time, Weyrauch said.

Taylor’s court hearing was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Southeast Mesa Juvenile Court. According to Weyrauch, the trial ended close to 4:45 p.m.

On Feb. 15, Taylor and her Higley Unified School District bus driver Kim Sullivan argued after Sullivan stopped the bus to control unruly students.

Sullivan attempted to stop Taylor from exiting the bus using physical force, the video shows, and a fight between the two women ensued.

At one point, Sullivan’s daughter pulled Taylor away from her mother as several other students descended upon the fight.

At the time, Taylor was 14 years old and a student of Williams Field High School. She has since switched schools following the incident.

Jose Rios Rico was sentenced this afternoon in federal court to life plus 55 years in prison for the murder 2003 murder of a mom-turned-drug-runner. (See previous post.) As part of the sentence, he will never be eligible for any type of release from prison, including parole.

More will be posted online later at www.evtrib.com and in tomorrow’s print edition.

A 16-year-old girl, who is the niece of Tempe mayor Hugh Hallman, has been missing since Saturday evening, according to the girl’s father and Tempe Police.

A Tempe police spokesman said the teen’s family reported her missing just before midnight Saturday.

The mayor’s brother Kelly Hallman said his daughter Paige Hallman (pictured) was meeting two male family friends in Papago Plaza less than a mile from their home near the intersection of McKellips and Scottsdale roads at 6:15 p.m. Kelly Hallman said Paige called the boys to tell them she would wait by a fountain at the property for them to arrive.

When the boys arrived, Paige was no where to be found, Kelly Hallman said.

The boys called Paige’s cell phone and she told them she was in a car with a man she didn’t know, Kelly Hallman said. Her friends told her to give the phone to the driver so they could ask him who he was.

A man said that he had picked Paige up at the fountain and immediately hung up, Kelly Hallman said. Since then, Paige’s cell phone has been turned off except for a text message conversation sent between her and an unknown person, according to tracking information on the cell phone, Kelly Hallman said.

Kelly Hallman said that Paige has run away from home twice before more than a year ago, but said this incident was different because she stayed in contact with her friends through her cell phone in the past.

Hugh Hallman said he has faith in the Tempe Police Department to find Paige and return her home.

“My first concern is for my brother, my sister-in-law and his family,” Hugh Hallman said.

Hugh Hallman said police would apply all the appropriate efforts to find his niece as they would any other missing citizen.

According to Tempe police Sgt. Steve Carbajal, Paige was last seen wearing a yellow and gray striped shirt, blue jeans and flip flops. She is 5″4′, weighs close to 125 pounds and has blonde hair and brown eyes.

Carbajal said the police department has not yet considered the disappearance suspicious.

Anyone who may have seen Paige is urged to call Tempe Police at (480) 350-8311.