Author Archive
October 31st, 2008, 10:29 am by John Leptich
Chandler police are trying to find other victims of James David Ritter’s recent fraudulent investment scheme in Scottsdale. The department’s unit is investigating Ritter for conducting a fraudulent investment scheme in the Scottsdale area this summer. Ritter, using the aliases David Danbury and Danny Ritter, solicited money from victims by falsely representing that he is a successful Wall Street investment broker. Ritter then stole money given to him by victims to invest on their behalf.
The U.S. Marshal’s Service arrested Ritter on Thursday in Las Vegas. In 2005, Ritter was convicted in Florida of grand theft and sentenced to 10 years in Florida Department of Corrections. Until Thursday, Ritter successfully eluded law enforcement after failing to surrender himself to authorities to begin his Florida prison sentence.
Chandler police ask that anyone who gave money to Ritter to invest on their behalf to contact them at (480) 782-4400.
Posted in: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
October 28th, 2008, 12:59 pm by John Leptich
Visitation for Phoenix police officer Shane Figueroa will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday at Red Mountain Institute, 7126 E. McKellips Road in Mesa. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the same location. Interment at Mesa City Cemetery, 1212 N. Center St., will follow the services.
Figueroa was killed in a car collision early Saturday while he was en route to an emergency call, according to authorities.
Figueroa, 25, was driving a police cruiser at 1:22 a.m. Saturday when another vehicle attempted to turn in the northbound lane of 19th Avenue and collided with his vehicle. He was responding to an emergency call of gunshots being fired, according to a police report.
Donations can be made to M & I Bank in the name of Melisha or Kenzlie Figueroa, the officer’s wife and daughter. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the 100 Club.
Posted in: Phoenix | 3 Comments »
October 28th, 2008, 11:46 am by John Leptich
Two Mesa plain clothes police officers in an unmarked vehicle working a special crime detail believe they may have been shot at Monday night.
The incident occurred at around 11:15 p.m. in the 2000 block of West Southern Avenue. Police saw two men they believe were acting suspiciously get into a car and leave a parking lot. Officers observed that the car didn’t have a rear license plate. They followed the vehicle and requested a marked patrol car to their location to make a stop on the vehicle.
While following the vehicle, its driver turned onto West Eighth Avenue from Dobson Road traveling westbound. As officers followed the vehicle in the area of South El Dorado, they heard what sounded like a gunshot behind them. They observed a vehicle approach them from the rear quickly and heard another gunshot and saw the flash of a gun. The officers put out a request for assistance and continued west into Tempe on East Balboa. The vehicle the shots were fired from fled from the scene as well as the original vehicle they were following. The officers stopped at the dead end of East Balboa at South George Drive. While waiting for marked units, the original vehicle police followed returned on East Balboa and was stopped by uniformed officers.
The individuals from the vehicle were detained for the investigation. No one was injured and no arrests have been made.
Posted in: Mesa | 1 Comment »
October 27th, 2008, 2:44 pm by John Leptich
 Police last week arrested a man who attempted to carjack a woman at knife point outside a Chandler PetSmart.
Police said that around 5:30 p.m. Oct. 22, Alan Nelson, 23, jumped into an unlocked car in a parking at 808 W. Warner Road at Alma School Road. Nelson demanded that the driver give him cash, according to Chandler police spokesman Dave Ramer. When she said she didn’t have any, Nelson forced her to drive him to Arizona Credit Union, 1311 W. Chandler Boulevard at Alma School.
When the woman arrived, she jumped out of her vehicle and banged on the teller’s window, yelling to call 911. Nelson jumped out of the car and ran away.
Ramer said plain-clothes Chandler police set up surveillance and stopped Nelson within 20 minutes of the incident. He matched a description given by the victim and witnesses at the credit union. The woman is a police volunteer, according to Ramer.
Posted in: Chandler | 17 Comments »
October 27th, 2008, 1:07 pm by John Leptich
At about 4 p.m. Sunday, loss prevention workers at Mervyns, 1240 E. Main St. in Mesa, saw several people taking merchandise without paying. According to a police report, a Mervyns employee assisted the individuals in the theft.
On more than one occasion, the individuals brought items to a register, but paid only a few dollars for the merchandise, according to the report. A 16 year-old clerk charged $15 to $25 for each transaction. In one case, the clerk took no money.
Three adults and three juveniles could be charged with commercial theft. Police recovered more than $5,000 worth of merchandise. They are looking for two other people, along with approximately $2,300 in merchandise.
Posted in: Mesa | 15 Comments »
October 17th, 2008, 1:48 pm by John Leptich
Those wishing to assist the family of Arizona Department of Public Safety officer and paramedic Bruce Harrolle, killed in the line of duty during a helicopter rescue Monday can make donations at any Chase Bank. Deposits can be made to the Bruce Harrolle account, No. 2915063065. Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 32 helped establish this account
Cards and notes of condolences to the family can be sent to: The Family of Officer Bruce Harrolle, Arizona Department of Public Safety, P.O. Box 6638, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6638.
Posted in: Arizona | Post a Comment »
October 17th, 2008, 9:47 am by John Leptich
A British Airways flight attendant faces charges of possession of a dangerous drug following his arrest Wednesday at a Mesa hotel.
At 10:40 a.m., police responded to a medical call at the Hilton Phoenix/East Mesa , 1011 W. Holmes Ave. There, went to the room registered to Warren Paul Bailey of London. In a desk there, police found a small plastic bag with a crystal substance. The two-ounce substance tested positive for methamphetamine.
Bailey admitted to police the substance belonged to him. He said he paid $200 for it. Bailey told police he worked for British Airways for 20 years.
Posted in: Mesa | 2 Comments »
October 14th, 2008, 12:53 pm by John Leptich
 A motor home burst into flames on an East Mesa street Tuesday afternoon as a mechanic was test driving it.
Mesa Fire Capt. Heath Thein said units responding to a call on Sossaman Road near University Drive found an older motor home burning, likely because its engine caught fire.
Thein said a mechanic had repaired the vehicle and, when it started to smoke while he test drove it, he tried to put out the fire with an extinguisher. When that didn’t work, the fire department was called.
“They go up fast,” said Thein as crews wrapped up spraying the vehicle with foam. “It probably started in the engine. He’s driving it and,the next thing you know, he saw some smoke and then fire. It’s a total loss.”
Posted in: Mesa | 1 Comment »
October 13th, 2008, 2:38 pm by John Leptich
  
A Chandler Wal-Mart on Sunday gave three men an empty laptop computer box by mistake.
Their mistake was coming back to report it.
Adolfo Paz Gracia, a 35-year-old Mexican National, Javier Carreno Cruz, a 29-year-old Mexican National, and Jose Diaz Valenzuela, a 29-year-old Mexican National, were booked into Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix on three counts of forgery and one count of fraud schemes each.
At around 4 p.m., Chandler Police responded to the Wal-Mart at 1175 S. Arizona Ave, when employees reported three men bought a laptop computer and returned with an empty box, claiming a laptop was never in it. Thinking the men were attempting to defraud the store, Wal-Mart called police. When police arrived, one of the men fled on foot. During the chase, he threw credit cards to the ground. Police recovered the cards and determined they were forgeries.
Further investigation revealed the three had 19 forged credit cards, which they had used to buy electronic items from Valley Wal-Mart stores. Their vehicle had various electronic items purchased fraudulently. The men told police that they came to the United States for the sole purpose of using the forged credit cards to buy items. The counterfeit credit cards were encoded with valid stolen credit card numbers.
The investigation is ongoing to identify the account holders of the stolen credit card numbers.
Posted in: Chandler | 9 Comments »
October 13th, 2008, 1:54 pm by John Leptich
Derek Ronald Foster and Ryan Hamblin face charges of burglary, trafficking in stolen property and forgery after being arrested by Mesa police last week.
On Wednesday night, police went to the 3900 block of East Norcroft Circle after a neighbor noticed an open door at a home belonging to residents who were out of town for about a month. Police didn’t find anyone when they went into the home, but noticed several television sets missing from wall mounts and the house in what they said was disarray. They also found a large amount of drug paraphernalia, including syringes and burnt aluminum foil, throughout the home.
They also found court paperwork regarding a search warrant served at Foster’s residence a month earlier. He was evicted from that residence shortly after police served the warrant.
A police search of a Mesa pawn database showed that Hamblin, who Foster previously lived with, pawned four 50-inch flat-screen TVs, a 37-inch flat screen, a Sony PlayStation, a laptop computer and other electrical equipment from Sept. 9 to Sept. 27.
Hamblin and Foster told police that they broke into the home through a window and pawned the items for drug money, according to police reports. They told police that he lived in the home for about a week and slept in the homeowner’s bed, used the shower and cooked in the kitchen. A police reports shows that Hamblin admitted to cashing four forged checks that belonged to the homeowner totaling $3,500. Foster said he took property from the home and brought it to a canal down the street, where he gave it to Hamblin, according to the police report.
Police arrested Hamblin on Friday evening and Foster on Saturday.
Posted in: Mesa | 6 Comments »
|
|
