Cop Shop

Police were forced to Taser a Gilbert man armed with a knife Monday evening after they were called to a drunken fight between the man and his brother, police said.
Lawrence De La Cruz, 42, was found by police just after 6 p.m. with a knife in his hand and a bloody arm near Gilbert and Elliot roads, according to Gilbert police Sgt. Mark Marino.
De La Cruz punched a window during the argument with his brother, Marino said, and officers used a Taser on him after he did not comply with police orders.
De La Cruz was then flown to a hospital for treatment of his arm wounds, Marino said.
Investigators are still determining the charges they will recommend be filed against De La Cruz. Alcohol was considered a factor in the incident, Marino said.

Gilbert police responded to two separate burglary calls Friday within 30 minutes of each other, authorities say.

According to Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marino, officers responded to an alarm at a Hollywood Video on the intersection of Baseline and Gilbert roads at 4:30 a.m.

A witness told police that two men carrying armfuls of merchandise were seen running eastbound from the store before police were able to arrive. The suspects were unable to be located, Marino said.

A short time later at 4:50 a.m. less than four miles away, police responded to a report from a storage yard near the intersection of Guadalupe and McQueen roads. Witnesses told police that an unidentified man gained access to the storage unit and stole several items, Marino said. Multiple victims came forward, saying the man had taken two pick up trucks, construction equipment and various tools.

Both cases are being investigated and no suspects have been named. The amount of loss from both robberies was not available.

A purse-snatching victim chased the suspect down Monday afternoon and held him inside of a grocery store until help could arrive, police say.

The victim was shopping at Fry’s Food and Drug on the intersection of Warner and Cooper roads at 1:40 p.m. when she spotted Taylor Kahus-Saccio, 22, grab her purse from her shopping cart, according to Gilbert police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marino.

Kahus-Saccio dropped the purse as soon as the woman began to chase him, Marino said.

The woman continued the chase and caught Kahus-Saccio. She held him down until store employees could assist her, Marino said.

Kahus-Saccio was charged with two counts of theft, Marino said, and booked into Maricopa County’s 4th Avenue jail.

A 16-year-old Gilbert teen stabbed his stepfather in the arm and shoulder Sunday morning after the two argued about placing the ice cube tray in the freezer, police say.

The 43-year-old step-father was transported to Scottsdale Osborne Hospital following the stabbing at 9:50 a.m. in the 3600 block of Hyatt Street, according to Sgt. Mark Marino of Gilbert police.

The stepfather told police that the teen left the ice tray on the kitchen counter and the teen stabbed the man in his left shoulder and arm during an argument, Marino said.

The teen was booked at the Southeast Juvenile facility on charges of aggravated assault, Marino said.  The stepfather was also charged with assault after he was released from the hospital.

During a traffic stop around 3 a.m. Wednesday at Gilbert Street and Hackamore Road, a passenger in the vehicle, police discovered that a passenger, 20-year-old Timothy Charles Hroma, had an outstanding warrant for desertion from the U.S. Marine Corps. He is being held at Maricopa County’s Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix.

Police arrested Erik O’Donnell at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday after receiving a report of a naked man hiding behind a tree in the 1600 block of East Hearne Way. O’Donnell, 18, told police he walked to the park from his house without his pants for “the thrill of it” and that he “wanted to feel what it was like to be free.” He is being held at Maricopa County’s Fourth Avenue Jail in Phoenix on suspicion of disorderly conduct.

Gilbert police arrested James Canty at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday after a man was seen in the 1500 block of East Indigo backing his Honda pickup into the driveway at a foreclosed house. A neighbor saw a man with a hand truck attempting to remove a refrigerator from the house through the side gate. Police found Canty, wearing cotton gloves, attempting to hide in the backyard of the house. Police said Canty, 47, entered the home by removing its back patio Arcadia door.

During a traffic stop of a stolen vehicle Wednesday, a Gilbert officer discovered the car contained stolen stereo equipment, power tools and a shotgun.

The three men inside of the stolen vehicle, 22-year-old Jesse Reyes, 22-year-old Arturo Martinez and a 17-year-old, fled from the car as a police traffic stop was conducted near the intersection of Val Vista Drive and Baseline Road at 6 p.m., a police release said.

A group of officers were able to locate the three men hiding in neighborhoods on opposite sides of Val Vista Drive.

Reyes and Martinez were booked with vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, trespassing, weapons misconduct and warrants, according to the release.

The 17-year-old, who will not be named because he is a juvenile, was booked with separate charges.

Gilbert police stumbled upon a marijuana grow house Tuesday evening after an emergency gas leak call was placed for the residence, police say.

Both Gilbert Fire and Gilbert Police responded to the gas leak call at a home near the intersection of Higley and Ray roads just before 9:30 p.m., according to a police release.

After police entered the home, 800 marijuana plants and $100,000 of marijuana-related equipment were seized.  According to release, the plants would have been $2 million in street value.

Gilbert police have not made any arrests in this case and an investigation is ongoing.

Florence resident Bradley Allen Trotter, accused of taking pictures up a 14-year-old’s skirt at a Gilbert Wal-Mart and found with several images of child pornography on his computer, police say, was charged with seven felony counts on Thursday.

According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Trotter was charged with six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of surreptitiously photographing or filming another person.

Trotter was arrested by Gilbert police July 23 after he was caught by the mother of a 14-year-old girl after he tried to take a picture up the girl’s skirt at a Wal-Mart, police say.

In an investigation of Trotter after his arrest, police searched his home computer and found several images of children engaged in sexual acts with a man and minors involved in exploitive exhibition, according to the release.