Cop Shop

Apache Junction police found an abandoned ATM machine and a safe in the desert Friday near Lost Dutchman and Goldfield.

Information wasn’t readily available on where the items came from.

Investigators are looking to talk with anyone who may have seen people dumping the items.

Police ask anyone with information to call the Criminal Investigation Division at (480) 982-8260

Fire destroyed a vacant mobile home at about 7 a.m. Tuesday at Klahanne Mobile Home Park, 1131 S. Meridian Road. Dave Montgomery, Battalion, Apache Junction battalion chief and fire marshal, said the cause of the fire isn’t known. He said it didn’t spread to other units. Montgomery estimated damage at about $50,000.

A 27-year-old man is accused of stealing a vehicle in Apache Junction and fleeing from officers during a traffic stop, sending authorities on an hourlong pursuit through two cities.

According to Apache Junction spokesman Sgt. Steve Kridler, driver Abelardo Ularte fled from police after three cruisers attempted to make a traffic stop on the stolen vehicle near Apache Trail and Meridian Road at 4 p.m.

After Ularte ran a red light, Kridler said the street chase was called off because it could endanger other drivers. A Mesa Police Department helicopter followed Ularte for an hour while he drove up to 70 miles per hour through Mesa and Apache Junction, running stop signs and red lights, Kridler said.

Police tried to deploy stop sticks, but Ularte avoided them by making U-turns, he said.

Kridler said Ularte drove into the desert to evade capture, but his vehicle fell into a ditch and became inoperable.

He attempted to run around a trailer house at 999 W. Broadway Road but slammed into the side of a van on the other side. The crash slowed him down enough to allow officers to apprehend him, Kridler said.

After his arrest, police also discovered that Ularte had a Maricopa County felony warrant for his arrest.

The Department of Public Safety closed U.S. 60 for two hours Saturday evening after a five-car collision, authorities say.

The crash, which occurred 10 to 15 miles west of Superior at 4:30 p.m., did not result in any serious injuries, according to a DPS spokesman.

The road was closed to traffic until 6:30 p.m., when it reopened to allow one lane of traffic at a time.  DPS could not give an estimated time to when the scene would be fully cleared and roads completely reopened.

Apache Junction Vice Mayor R.E. Eck Jr., who suffered a broken rib July 10 when a man he knew forced his way into Eck’s home and beat him, spent four days in a hospital due to a recurring blood clot.
Eck said he left the hospital on Sunday. He said his condition is improving.
Eck and Apache Junction police identified the attacker as Vincent Carlos Sanchez. Eck said Sanchez confronted him about what he perceived to be Eck’s involvement in Sanchez’s divorce. Eck’s wife, Cynthia, works with Sanchez’s former wife, Tracy.
Eck denied rumors that Sanchez came to Eck’s home to retrieve personal belongings, or that he is related to Eck or his wife.
“I do have a brother-in-law with the same last name, but it’s not him,” Eck said.
Sanchez, 37, was booked on two counts of aggravated assault and one count of burglary.
Eck, Apache Junction mayor John Insalaco and three other City Council members appear headed for a recall election.