Archive for the 'Maricopa County' Category
July 12th, 2008, 1:31 pm by Nick R. Martin
When the Gilbert Police Department got word that the town’s mayor, Steve Berman, may have somehow hit or injured a member of his family earlier this week, its police chief immediately turned over the domestic violence investigation to another police agency to avoid “any appearance of a conflict.” But in doing so, the chief appears to have turned handed it to one of Berman’s closest political allies, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
In fact, Berman and Arpaio, both Republicans, appear shoulder-to-shoulder in a photo on the mayor’s campaign website. On the same site, Berman even has a note that Arpaio penned for him declaring him “a real mayor and good for Gilbert” (see the photo above).
So is this a conflict? Neither Arpaio’s office nor Berman will comment today. But Arpaio’s opponent in upcoming sheriff’s election, former Buckeye police Chief Dan Saban, thinks so.
“I would say, on its face, it does appear to be another conflict in a long series of conflicts,” said Saban. Arpaio “has a long history of supporting those who support him.” Saban, a Democrat, pointed to recent sheriff’s investigations, such as the agency’s ongoing inquiry of Democratic state Attorney General Terry Goddard, as evidence of politically-motivated cases.
And Saban, who lives in Gilbert, said the town’s police Chief Tim Dorn, who is a former sheriff’s deputy, should have asked some other agency to investigate the case. Dorn told the Tribune yesterday he handed the domestic violence investigation to Arpaio because MCSO has jurisdiction over the entire county. But, Saban said, any police agency in the state could have handled the investigation. “Tim Dorn could have gone to anybody” Saban said. “He could have asked Flagstaff PD to investigate it if he wanted to.”
For now, though, the details of the investigation remain a mystery until the sheriff’s office releases them. Even the identity of the supposed victim remains secret. Arpaio was coy yesterday when asked about the case and gave few details. “Someone asked us to take this over,” he said. “We’re going to look into it.”
Posted in: Gilbert • Maricopa County | 1 Comment »
July 8th, 2008, 2:29 pm by Nick R. Martin
 
Gerald Richard and Tim Nelson
The two Democrats running to unseat Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas this fall will go head-to-head in their first debate tonight in Tempe.
Gerald Richard, a former Phoenix police administrator, and Tim Nelson, a former chief counsel to the governor, will meet at 7 p.m. at Changing Hands Bookstore for the first of four public debates that will take place this month.
Richard and Nelson will talk about the role the Valley’s chief prosecutor plays in public safety, as well as how best to manage the office, which is one of the largest law firms in the state. Both have built their campaigns on criticizing Thomas, who is running for re-election. But they have struggled to distinguish themselves from each other, often taking similar stances on issues such as illegal immigration and spending. Tonight is expected to be the first chance the candidates have to stand out on the issues.
The event is open to the public and the Tribune will be on hand to cover it.
Posted in: Maricopa County • Tempe | 1 Comment »
July 5th, 2008, 1:33 pm by Nick R. Martin
East Valley police agencies arrested 37 suspected drunken drivers as of Saturday morning as part of a Fourth of July holiday crackdown. In all, 137 people were arrested statewide for DUIs during a two-day effort coordinated by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
Chandler, Mesa, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and and police from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community were just some of the 33 agencies involved in the crackdown. The effort will continue through Sunday night.
Posted in: Chandler • Maricopa County • Mesa | 8 Comments »
July 3rd, 2008, 2:07 pm by Nick R. Martin
Dan Saban, the Democrats’ only hope to unseat Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio this fall, sent a photo to the media today showing him behind the wheel of a tiny Smart Car, branded with his campaign logo and slogan: “American Lawman.”
The addition of a campaign vehicle is an unusual choice for a local race, especially considering Saban is struggling with raising money and needs to spend every penny as strategically as possible. According to campaign finance reports made public this week, Saban has been able to scrape together about $48,000 — or just more than a tenth of what his opponent has in the bank. But Saban said today in a phone interview he’s able to drive the Smart Car on the cheap. Rent on the thing costs about $400 a month, and the special “wrap” with his logo cost another $1,600, he said. With four months to go until the November election, Saban will be spending about $3,200, not including gas.
Gasoline is where Saban said he’ll be saving big. He puts about 200 miles a day driving throughout Maricopa County, he said, and the car gets about 60 miles to the gallon. “I’ve put over 50,000 miles on my own personal truck just campaigning this year,” he said. Saban also added he believes it shows he is a good money manager. “I wanted a vehicle that would not only be economical and reliable but would also…demonstrate my philosophy of fiscal responsibility,” Saban said in his e-mail news release. “After all I am running for an office where the current officeholder has mismanaged his resources.”
Saban is also “checking out the feasibility” of using Smart Cars for some of the county’s police work for things like parking enforcement and security detail if he gets elected, he said. “This is a chance to test drive something to see if it’d be practical.”
Posted in: Maricopa County | 13 Comments »
June 18th, 2008, 11:20 am by Nick R. Martin
 The State Bar of Arizona is expected to reveal more about their ongoing ethics investigations of the Valley’s chief prosecutor, Andrew Thomas, in a filing with the state’s highest court later today. Thomas recently asked the Arizona Supreme Court to block the investigations, saying he believes they are politically motivated.
In all, the State Bar opened 13 investigations against Thomas and lawyers in his office. The state Supreme Court asked the organization to respond to Thomas’ concerns by today. A spokeswoman with the group says their response will likely come late this afternoon.
Stay tuned for more details.
Posted in: Maricopa County | 2 Comments »
June 13th, 2008, 2:07 pm by John Leptich
Details released Friday of a police interview with one of the two survivors of a vicious attack by Mesa’s serial predator paint a vivid picture of how one of the woman was choked on a Phoenix street corner until she passed out.
Trent Benson, 36, of Mesa admitted to violent attacks on Alisa Marie Beck, 21; Karen Jane Campbell, 44; a woman in Phoenix who survived an attack on Aug. 16, 2007 and another woman who lived in Phoenix.
On Nov. 4, 2007, one of the woman told Phoenix police that after she walked behind a car wash following a pay phone call she made at the northeast corner of Seventh Street and Whitton Avenue in Phoenix, a man came up from behind and put a wire around her neck. She said the man, who she couldn’t identify, began to choke her with the wire. She put her hands up trying to fend off the attack. She said she couldn’t pull the wire off her and tried to get a look at the assailant, but was unable to. She also said the attacker raped her.
The woman said she saw a small white car as she struggled, but wasn’t sure if it belonged to the attacker. Benson has admitted to police that he drives a white car. The woman said she passed out and, when she came to, was at Fifth Street and Osborn Avenue, surrounded by police. She said her white shorts, underwear, socks and tennis shoes were missing. Police noticed that the woman’s eyes were red and she had black-and-blue bruising consistent with being choked and losing oxygen.
Police found a small black electrical charger with a two-pronged plug hanging out of a garbage can in one of the car wash’s bays.
According to police, DNA has linked Benson to all four known incidents.
CONTACT WRITER: (480) 898-5687 or jleptich@evtrib.com
Posted in: Maricopa County | Post a Comment »
June 13th, 2008, 10:44 am by John Leptich
The northbound Loop 202 is closed at Broadway Road for rubberized asphalt paving. The southbound Loop 202 on-ramp at University Drive is also closed. The closures will be in effect through 6 p.m. Sunday
Posted in: Maricopa County | Post a Comment »
May 18th, 2008, 4:07 pm by Mike Branom
Maricopa County authorities are investigating a fatal shooting outside a Fountain Hills hotel.
The victim, identified only as a Hispanic man, was found Saturday night in the parking lot of CopperWynd Resort and Club, 13225 N. Eagle Ridge Dr.
It was not known whether the victim was a guest or an employee, Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Deputy Lindsey Smith said.
Posted in: Maricopa County • North East Valley | Post a Comment »
May 9th, 2008, 3:24 pm by Nick R. Martin
A Chandler auto glass repairman learned Friday he will spend a year and a half in prison for defrauding multiple insurance companies out of more than $100,000. Bruce Riley, 41, spent four years charging insurance companies for more than 400 bogus repairs, according the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, which prosecuted the case.
As part of his sentence, handed down in Maricopa County Superior Court, he will also have to pay back the money he scammed, the office announced in a statement.
Riley, who could not be reached for comment, will also spend an extra year in prison for an aggravated drunken driving charge he pleaded guilty to in an unrelated case.
Posted in: Chandler • Maricopa County | 4 Comments »
May 9th, 2008, 2:20 pm by Nick R. Martin
 Former Phoenix police official Gerald Richard (pictured right) and his supporters showed up at a special meeting of Valley Democrats last night, promising to give voters a chance to compare him side-by-side with his primary opponent in the race for Maricopa County attorney.
Trouble was: His opponent, Tim Nelson (pictured below), didn’t show up.
Nelson’s campaign manager, Josh Kilroy, said Richard’s campaign never contacted them with plans for a face-to-face meeting. “Tim had made another commitment to another event weeks ago,” Kilroy said today. He attended the event himself and said it was a regular meeting of Democrats in the state’s 15th legislative district, held at the Central High School Library in Phoenix. Many of the regular local Democrats were there to discuss party happenings, but so were 10 or so Gerald Richard supporters in bright yellow T-shirts, he said. “It was a little overkill,” Kilroy said.
 Richard’s campaign spokesman Doug Ramsey said he had confirmation from district party leaders that Nelson was scheduled to attend. However, he added, it wasn’t much a surprise that Nelson was a no show; it has happened before. Oftentimes, the Richard campaign shows up strong at the local party meetings while the Nelson campaign sends only a person or two, he said. “We’re working with Democratic people who are the stalwarts of the party,” Ramsey said. “And Nelson just doesn’t seem interested in doing that.”
An e-mail (PDF) forwarded to the Tribune from the Richard campaign seems to show party officials at least thought Nelson was going to attend. But Nelson’s campaign says it never was part of their candidate’s plans.
Posted in: Maricopa County • Phoenix | 3 Comments »
|
|
