A lost flash drive full of kiddie porn led to the arrest of a 63-year-old man for suspected exploitation of a minor.
The Tempe police case began when an employee at Tempe Marketplace picked up the flash drive on May 28 in the parking lot behind Harkins Theatres. He brought it home, and plugged it into his computer -- and saw pictures of children being sexually exploited.
The store employee turned over the evidence to police, where it was examined by forensics experts. After figuring out that David William Curtis Jr. was the likely suspect, undercover detectives contacted him and arranged a meeting yesterday, again at the Tempe Marketplace shopping center. That's where cops took him into custody.
Sergeant Steve Carbajal, spokesman for Tempe police, says the department doesn't want to reveal some of the tactics of the operation.
We ask how Curtis Jr. got those scratches and bruises. Carbajal says Curtis Jr. was carrying a hammer, for some reason, tucked under his arm.
"It appeared to be the butt of a gun," Carbajal says. "They took him to the ground."
He must have landed face-first. Bummer.
Tempe Marketplace is full of kids on a typical day, especially near the splash zone for tykes.
Not everyone in the food court with a laptop is blogging.
