Cop Shop

An unregistered sex offender living in Tempe recent was arrested during a pre-Halloween sweep, the U.S. Marshals Service said Thursday.
Manuel Molina was taken into custody during Operation Safe Treat, a three-day operation targeting non-compliant sex offenders and those wanted for various other sex offenses.
Authorities said Molina, found in a Tempe apartment, was wanted in Cochise County and Minnesota for failing to register as a sex offender. Molina also could be facing additional charges for failing to register in Maricopa County, officials said.
Operation Safe Treat involved more than 65 law enforcement officers from 19 Valley law enforcement agencies.

A man seeking money for crack cocaine was responsible for a robbery and two burglaries in Tempe last week, police said.
Jerome D. Eddings, a 23-year-old transient, was arrested in Phoenix on Thursday night shortly after he and an accomplice allegedly stole beer from Quick Mart, 606 W. Broadway Road.
During that incident, police said, the store clerk threatened Eddings with a Taser but Eddings responded by pointing a handgun at him.
Investigators also believe that on Oct. 21 Eddings stole a cash register during a beer run at Chevron, 809 S. Rural Road, and committed a similar burglary at Spark Food Mart, 5124 S. Mill Ave.
Eddings has made admissions to having involvement in the three incidents, police said.

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman’s teenage niece, missing since last weekend, was found in good condition and reunited with her family Friday morning.

Police said they are investigating the disappearance of Paige Hallman, 16, (pictured) as a possible runaway incident. She has a history of running away from home, according to authorities

Hallman had gone missing last Sunday night.

This post was written and reported by Tribune reporter Mike Branom

Two men were assaulted and robbed while returning home from downtown Tempe early Friday morning police say, leaving one man with several broken bones and another fighting for his life. Authorities believe the assault was motivated by aggression and not for the robbery itself.

The men were jumped by a group of three assailants in a neighborhood southwest of Southern Avenue and McClintock Drive, according to Tempe police spokesman Sgt. Steve Carbajal.

One of the victims, 22-year-old Graham Stanley, is the son of a well-known Idaho college dean, according to Idaho news station CBS 11 KMVT. Stanley received major head trauma in the assault and is still recovering in a local hospital.

The other victim, 23-year-old Nick Deeds, received several broken bones in the attack.

Police believe that the suspects knocked the men to the ground and continued to beat them while they lay incapacitated. The suspects stole a cell phone, wallets and $6 in cash when the men were unable to retaliate, Carbajal said.

After an investigation, Tempe Police arrested Gavin Lemusu (top left), 18, Jovi Lemusu (top right), 18, and Sunia Tukia (below), 20, as suspects in the beating, Carbajal said. All suspects were booked with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of aggravated robbery.

Amber Van Dine (not pictured), 20, is suspected of driving the getaway vehicle following the assault, Carbajal said. She was booked with a count of credit card theft.

The aggression motive is still being investigated and police could not release any more details regarding the case.

A suspected sexual predator arriving at what he thought would be a rendezvous with a minor was arrested by police officers waiting to catch him, authorities said.

Police said that Joseph V. Badaracco, 53, was arrested Thursday afternoon in the area of Rural Road and Guadalupe Road in Tempe. Badaracco’s arrest is the first in what Tempe police hope will be many resulting from the new Internet Crimes Against Children Unit (ICAC).

According to Tempe officials, the new unit’s mission will be to deter, prevent, investigate and prosecute predators who seek to exploit or engage minors in sexual activity through the use of computers and the Internet.

Badaracco is accused of attempting to lure a minor for sexual exploitation. According to police, Badaracco had several online chats with what he believed was a minor. He eventually asked for sex acts and planned to meet the supposed juvenile in Tempe.

Police said the unit investigates cases based on tips as well as initiating contact with suspects. But Tempe authorities would not specify if they initiated contact with Badaracco, or how long he was under investigation.

Badaracco was arrested on suspicion of five counts of luring a minor for sexual exploitation.

Two men robbed and assaulted a cabdriver and stole his vehicle just before midnight Tuesday, authorities said.
Tempe police said the men hit Yusuf Nur of the Blue Sky Taxi Co. in the head numerous times as he drove them westbound on U.S. 60 near northbound Loop 101.
When Nur was able to pull off the road and leave his cab, the men drove away with it. One is described as 5 feet tall with short black hair and wearing blue jeans, the other 6 feet tall with a black T-shirt and blue jeans.

Tempe police Sgt. Dan Masters is organizing a fundraiser for a fellow sergeant’s 3-year-old son, who was recently diagnosed with a rare and dangerous enzyme deficiency disease.

Michael ‘Trey’ Lane, the son of Tempe Sgt. Mike Lane, has a rare genetic disorder called Mucopolysaccharidosis VI or Maroteaux Lamy Syndrome or MPS VI. Masters said only 75 people in the U.S. have the condition, and Trey is the only child in Arizona who suffers from it.

Trey’s life expectancy is 11 to 13 years, Masters said, and there is no cure. Trey is receiving a special therapy into his veins to help slow the progression of the disease, but it is expensive and the family could run out of money to pay for it within a year.

Masters has organized a fundraiser for the child and his family to help pay for medical treatments. It will be held 7 p.m. Sept. 12 at Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, 60 E. Fifth St.

The event is $75 per person and includes a silent auction, cocktail hour, raffle, dinner and entertainment. Proceeds from ticket sales, the silent auction and raffle will go toward Trey’s medical trust fund and toward finding a cure for the disease.

To buy tickets, donate a silent auction or raffle item or for sponsorship information e-mail Dan Masters or Robert Pargmann at treystreasurechest2008@yahoo.com.