Cop Shop

A 21-year-old shoplifting suspect took a swing at a Mesa cop Thursday and got a blast of electricity and a jail cell in return.

According to Mesa police, the officer was trying to detain Philip Raphael Jr., when Raphael struck him several times in the chest and arms before running away.

The officer fired his Taser at Raphael and arrested him. Also arrested was Christopher Phillips, who was turned over to Scottsdale police on a warrant.

The incident began at 3:50 p.m. when someone at Walgreens at 8th Avenue and Alma School Road reported that two men stole alcohol.

The officer arrived and noticed bulges in their clothing.

Two suspects that may have burglarized a Gilbert school in October are now in custody after an extensive investigation, police records show.
The men, Gregory Griffin and Kameron Williams, were arrested this month and booked for burglary, misdemeanor theft and misdemeanor warrants, according to a Gilbert Police arrest record.
Police believe the men entered Highland High School, located on Guadalupe Road between Higley and Power roads, on Oct. 21 and stole computer related equipment from two classrooms, according to Gilbert Police spokesman Sgt. Mark Marino.
Griffin (pictured right), 28, was taken into police custody on Dec. 18 and Williams (pictured left), 20, was arrested Tuesday for his participation in the burglary.

An armed man attempting to rob a Chandler jewelry store died from a gunshot wound resulting from a gun battle between the suspect and store employees, police say.

The store manager was shot in the face during the battle, but he is expected to survive, according to Chandler police Det. David Ramer. The department has not released the identities of anyone involved in the incident.

Two male suspects entered the Christopher Diamond Jewelry store, located near the intersection of Chandler Blvd. and the Loop 101, at 4:45 p.m. Saturday, Ramer said. One of the men was armed and told the store owner, his wife and their adult son that he was going to rob the store.

When the store manager pulled a gun, the suspect shot him, Ramer said. A resulting gun battle left the suspect mortally wounded but he was able to flee in a stolen pick-up truck to the area of Broadway and the Loop 101.

The suspect’s vehicle came to a stop near the intersection and the second man fled on foot while the wounded suspect remained inside the truck. The wounded man was transported to an area hospital where he later died, Ramer said.

The second suspect was later arrested in the surrounding area, Ramer said.

No one else was injured during the shooting but witnesses helped police track the suspect’s vehicle by providing a description of the truck, Ramer said.

A Minnesota district judge set $1 million bail for a Florence detention officer accused of killing his wife in 2004 after learning of new forensic evidence Friday.

4 years later, prison guard faces murder charges

Andrew Gordon Lemcke, 34, was charged with first and second degree murder in November after his wife died from a gun shot wound to the head in their shared Appleton, MN home on Sept. 12, 2004. Lemcke has maintained his innocence by saying that his wife’s death was accidental after the two wrestled for control of a loaded firearm.

The Swift County district court judge also allowed a $10,000 cash bail for Lemcke that his family is attempting to collect, according to Lemcke’s attorney Brian Wojtalewicz.

Lemcke, of Florence, turned himself over to the Pinal County Sheriff’s department on Nov. 16 after officials released a warrant for his arrest, Wojtalewicz said. He was an employee with the Florence Correction Center and placed on administrative leave following his arrest.

Officials cited new forensic evidence and expert testimony for the charges brought against Lemcke, but they have not released any information about the evidence itself, he said.

A man arrested for driving under the influence of drugs decided to burglarize a family practice and a pickup truck after his release on the same evening, according to a Gilbert police report.

Monty Levinson, 36, was found passed out next to a Gilbert Kindercare preschool with the stolen property and burglary tools next to him at 1 a.m. Friday, the report says.

Investigators found that Levinson had attempted to walk to Mesa after his Thursday DUI release and then burglarized and damaged the truck, located at a U-Haul center near the intersection of GIlbert and Warner roads. After obtaining the truck’s speakers, he burglarized a TLC Family Practice just across the street, the report states.

He was found near the preschool with the truck’s speakers, a computer monitor from the family practice and burglary tools.

Police believe Levinson has been involved in other same-day burglaries in the area of Warner and Gilbert roads.

Officials arrested a Mesa man suspected of running one of the largest marijuana growing operations in years, Thursday afternoon.

Authorities at the Arizona Department of Public Safety said the bitter smell of marijuana was overwhelming inside the west Mesa home, near Gilbert road and Main Street, where officials seized dozens of plants and a box of ready for sale marijuana with an estimated street value of $2000 to $3000 dollars.

“David White, 31, was arrested Thursday about 5 p.m. on suspicion of possession, use, sale and production of marijuana,” said Bart Graves, DPS media spokesperson.

According to Graves, White was arrested during the course of an ongoing investigation of west Mesa gangs by the DPS State Gang Task Force. Graves said the unit was monitoring drug activity as part of its investigation into criminal gang activity in Mesa when White’s residence became a point of interest.

“We were following the money and all signs pointed to this house from the gang activity,” said Graves.

Authorities said the hydroponic marijuana lab was the largest growing operation they had ever encountered. The two-story home had several rooms with carefully controlled temperature, lighting, and fans. The rooms had dozens of plants in several stages of growth and according to Graves; investigators believe the lab has been operating for several years.

DPS officials did not arrest any other people in connection with the warrant search and seizure, and investigators believe white was operating alone.

Chandler police arrested two men suspected of swindling nearly $800,000 from the Gold Canyon Candle Company, Thursday.

According to police Donald Elvin Blackburn, 38, of Queen Creek and Derek David Gentry, 37, of Peoria worked together charging Gold Canyon for computer products, license renewals and license keys without delivering the products. 

Police reports said Gentry was employed at Gold Canyon Candles in June of 2005 as the Information Technology Director but neglected to mention he owned Maverick Development Solutions INC., another vendor to Gold Canyon Candles and a conflict of interest.

A fellow employee noticed Gentry’s name attached to a Maverick Development Solutions INC invoice, further investigation revealed that Gentry was the owner of the company and was over billing products Gold Canyon purchased, said police reports.

Gentry’s employment was terminated and Gold Canyon began an internal audit.

Police believe that Blackburn and Gentry worked together charging Gold Canyon Candles for products such as computer products, license renewals and license keys but   never delivering the products, said authorities.

The Chandler police Financial Crimes Unit found evidence linking both men to nearly $800,000 in missing products. Blackburn and Gentry were arrested on suspicion of fraud schemes, felony theft, computer fraud, forgery, and trafficking stolen property.

A Gilbert woman traveling through an intersection struck an ambulance responding to an emergency call Tuesday, police say.

Driver Trisha Hauserman, 30, failed to yield to the ambulance as it traveled eastbound through the intersection of Higley and Germann roads, according to Gilbert police spokesman Mark Marino. The ambulance stopped at the intersection before it entered the roadway at 5:30 p.m. and several other cars had already yielded for the medical vehicle to pass, he said.

Hauserman was traveling northbound on Higley Road when she struck the vehicle, Marino said.

Marino could not confirm that Hauserman received a citation for the accident, but said the driver of the ambulance, David Watts, was not injured in the collision.

The human remains found less than ten miles southwest of Superior have been identified as an adult black female, according to Pinal County sheriff’s authorities.

A camper discovered the remains inside of an abandoned freezer three miles from the intersection of US 60 and Picket Post Road, said PCSO spokeswoman Vanessa White. The scene was secured at noon by the Superior Police Department and PCSO deputies took over the investigation at 1 p.m., she said.

Investigators have not identified the woman and have not released how long the woman may have been inside the freezer.