Cop Shop

A man considered one of “Chandler’s Most Wanted” for his suspected connection to a 2005 homicide was arrested Tuesday by local and federal authorities after more than three years on the run.

Moses Mejia (pictured) was captured in Queen Creek by U.S. Marshals and Mesa police on suspicion of the October 2005 killing of Sergio Vasquez-Abuerto, according to the Chandler Police Department.

Vasquez was shot to death by a group of four men who robbed him and his friends at gunpoint in an apartment complex parking lot.

Mejia was the third person of the group to be arrested, police said. Investigators are still looking for another man, 22-year-old Jose Herrera. They asked anyone with information to call Chandler police at (480) 782-4130.

Pinal County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Edgar Canchola of Queen Creek at approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday on charges of fraudulent schemes. Canchola, 19, admitted to using counterfeit money to purchase items, to include fuel for his vehicle and food he had purchased at a Sonic restaurant at 3061 W. Hunt Highway. He was in possession of the counterfeit money at his residence, where he was arrested.

When police arrived at the restaurant, its general manager told them a man driving a black older Nissan with Arizona license plates used a fake $20  bill to purchase food. She said the same man was at the restaurant earlier in the evening and she kept the bill from a small purchase he made then. She said when the man returned and tried to purchase something else, the server attempted to confront him and take the bill. He pulled it away and left.

From a check of license plates, police found Canchola at his home. An officer wrote in his report that Canchola became agitated and had a belligerent attitude when questioned. He was uncooperative and didn’t offer any information, according to police. Police found seven $20 bills in Canchola’s wallet.

The police report shows that Canchola told an officer he first bought gas with the counterfeit money. When he found he could get away with it, he tried again at the Sonic restaurant, according to police. He told police he received the counterfeit money from some friends, but would not elaborate. He said he had the money for a while. He said did not make it.

Canchola was booked into the Pinal County Detention Center on seven counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices.

An 80-year-old woman was found dead inside of her home Tuesday and Maricopa County officials are saying her death may be suspicious.

The woman’s home, near the intersection of Grapefruit Drive and Hunt Highway in an unincorporated portion of Maricopa County next to Queen Creek, was being investigated by authorities around 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to MCSO spokeswoman Lindsey Smith.

Smith was not able to release the woman’s identity, nor any other facts involved in the case on Wednesday.

Please check back for more details when they become available.

The Pinal County Superior Court indicted three men Wednesday involved in the shooting death of 17-year-old Anibal Mendoza, authorities say.

Thais “Lamar” Cooper, 20, was charged with second degree murder, a class one felony, according to Pinal County spokesman Mike Minter. Mendoza was found at the scene of the shooting, near the intersection of Altadonna Street and Cambria Drive in Queen Creek, with a gun shot wound to the head on Aug 17.

Johnny Lee Cooks, 21, was charged with felony aggravated assault for shooting at a minor after a fight ensued between Mendoza and his friends, Minter said.

17-year-old Kyle Webb was also charged with felony aggravated assault for firing into a group of people and hitting at least one person before the murder occurred. His case has been moved to an adult court, Minter said.

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday identified the driver of a vehicle found early Monday morning after on its roof after driving off the road at Hunt Highway and Sossaman Road near Queen Creek. Anthony Jones, 22, drove the vehicle, whose make and model weren’t identified by authorities. Passengers in the vehicle, found at about 6:15 a.m. Monday, were Kimberly Jackson, 21, Raven Cassa, 20, and another individual who’s name hasn’t been released. All four were taken to an area hospital. Authorities haven’t released the extent of injuries Jones or the passengers suffered, their conditions or places of residence.

A man was flown to a hospital with serious head injuries Friday afternoon after his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck that was pulling a trailer in the Queen Creek area.

The crash occurred about 4:30 p.m., and Pinal County sheriff’s deputies have closed Bella Vista Road between Stardust and Gantzel roads until about 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.

The motorcycle rider’s name hasn’t been released. His current condition is unknown.

The man authorities suspect owned the gun a 12-year-old Queen Creek Middle School student took to school earlier this week was arrested Friday.

Fernando Martinez-Cura, 37, was arrested by Maricopa County sheriff’s deputies after admitting ownership of the weapon. Deputies also determined that Martinez-Cura, the boyfriend of the boy’s grandmother, was living in the country illegally.

On Wednesday, the boy brought a loaded 9 mm handgun to school because, he said, someone was picking on him. The boy was seen showing other students how to load the gun. The investigation determined that the boy most likely acquired the gun at his grandmother’s house, where her boyfriend left it.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Wednesday he suspected Martinez-Cura was an illegal immigrant, and that an arrest would be made because it is against the law for illegal immigrants to carry weapons.

Martinez-Cura was jailed on suspicion of felony misconduct involving a weapon and on two outstanding warrants, according to sheriff’s deputies. The 12-year-old boy may face felony charges of possession of a firearm and misdemeanor charges of endangerment, according to Arpaio.

The boy’s family of six may also face deportation because the father, mother and a 10-year-old sibling were also found to be in the country illegally.

A Skyline school bus side-swiped a parked vehicle Tuesday after police say the bus driver tried to pass the car that was blocking traffic.

According to Pinal County spokeswoman Vanessa White, the bus driver attempted to pass the vehicle by entering a grassy area next to the road after the K-8 school was released near the intersection of Hunt Highway and Gary Road in Queen Creek.  The bus was traveling at about 5 miles per hour when it hit the car parked in the roadway.

No major injuries were reported, but White said about six children complained of hitting their heads on the seat in front of them or on a window of the bus.

Two children were taken in ambulances to local hospitals. One was a 10-year-old boy who said his foot and knee hurt and the other was a 9-year-old girl who said she had pain in her neck, shoulder and abdomen.

All other children were taken to another bus that would drive them home.

An investigation is ongoing.

Two Queen Creek-area boys will be going to trial May 5th for their involvement in the 2007 murder of 17-year-old Amber Hess, according to a Pinal County spokesman.

Todd Hoke and Nicolas Castillo, both 16 at the time of the murder, will be charged as adults with first-degree murder, burglary, theft, tampering with evidence and abandonment or concealment of a body, according to Pinal County spokesman Konstantinos Kalaitzidiz.

According to police, Hess’ burned body was found in the desert northwest of Florence on June 25, 2007.

Fingerprints and an anonymous tip let police to Hoke and Castillo, who attended Coolidge High School with Hess. Through an investigation, police found that the boys had planned the girl’s murder for weeks because they did not like her, police said.

A status review for the case has been planned for Oct. 6, Kalaitzidiz said.

A 17-year-old girl left a ransom note for her grandmother Wednesday afternoon, police say, in an attempt to fake her own kidnapping in Queen Creek.

The girl’s grandmother found the note that said: “You can have your car and daughter back when I decide how much money I want” at 4 p.m. in the teen’s bedroom, according to Pinal County spokeswoman Vanessa White.  The note was signed “Biggie Little,” White said, and added that the grandmother also reported that her vehicle was stolen.

At 1:45 a.m., the 17-year-old girl returned to her father’s home and police discovered the vehicle at a local Fry’s, White said.  According to White, the location of the home was not yet available.

After an investigation, police discovered the kidnapping was staged and false, White said.

The teen was booked into juvenile detention after her arrest, according to White.

The Tribune does not publish the identities of minors involved with police arrests.