Cop Shop

Arson is being blamed for a weekend fire that gutted a vacant Mesa home.
The house at 337 E. Ninth Ave., near Mesa Drive and Southern Avenue, suffered $100,000 in damage during Saturday night’s blaze, Deputy Chief Mike Dunn said.
According to investigators, a couch on the back porch was set afire and the flames soon spread to the attic. It took fire crews from Mesa, Gilbert and Apache Junction 15 minutes to extinguish the fire, Dunn said.
There were no injuries and the fire was contained to that property.

Mesa police are investigating the armed robbery of a fast-food restaurant on Tuesday night.
Around 8:30 p.m., a suspect pulled a gun on employees of the Carl’s Jr. at 1352 S. Gilbert Road. After receiving an undisclosed amount of money, he fled on foot.
The suspect as described as a black male, about 25 years old, 6 feet tall and weighing 200 pounds. He was wearing jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt with blue or purple squares in a checkered pattern on the chest.

A man suspected of repeatedly raping and impregnating a girl in Oklahoma was arrested in Mesa on Tuesday.
Edward Baughman, 56, was taken into custody at a residence in the 8600 block of East Main Street, the U.S. Marshals Service said. The morning arrest took place without incident and he now is awaiting extradition back to Oklahoma.
Baughman was wanted on a warrant for rape, issued in October. His alleged victim was 12 years old, authorities said.
Baughman at first cooperated with law enforcement officials in Oklahoma, but then fled. Last month, the Oklahoma City Metro Fugitive Task Force began hunting for Baughman and soon determined he was residing in the Valley.

Edward Baughman

A man suspected of trying to break into an east Mesa sandwich shop early Monday was apprehended by a police dog soon after.
The unidentified suspect was caught in the backyard of a home in the 5200 block of East Florian Avenue. After medical treatment for puncture wounds to the back of his neck, courtesy of K-9 officer Jake, the man was booked for burglary and residential trespass.
Police said shortly before 3:45 a.m., officers were dispatched to the Subway 1121 S. Higley Road to investigate a burglar alarm indicating a glass break. A police detective on his way home also saw a subject breaking a window to the business.
The suspect ran north to a silver Jeep Liberty parked on Southern Avenue and attempted to enter on he passenger side. But the door would not open, so the suspect ran north into a residential neighborhood with the detective following.
The Jeep fled the area and was not located.
After a perimeter was established, Jake found the suspect hiding in a bush.

Mesa police believe a drive-by shooting that damaged a car and home, nearly striking the resident, may have been gang-related retaliation.
No one was hurt in Sunday night’s incident in the 7100 block of East Arbor Avenue, near Main Street and Power Road. The shooter could not be located.
Police said the scene of the shooting is a known gang-affiliated house, and there has been an on-going dispute between the victim and a member of the Jefferson Park Gangsters. The victim is under house arrest for a shooting involving a JPG member.
Rounds from what appear to be a shotgun damaged the victim’s car, parked in the driveway, and entered the residence.