Drug Crimes

Lancelot Lipe, Owner of Retirement-Community Meth Lab, Gets Prison Time

A man who kept his wife in kids in the same house as his meth lab, in the retirement community of Sun City, was sentenced today to 7 1/2 years in prison.Lancelot Lipe, now 30, claimed the meth lab in his garage wasn't even his, and sent an e-mail to New Times claiming he would sue for "liable" due t ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Seems Pretty Bored Talking About U.S. Citizen Busted With 50 Pounds of Meth

Sheriff Joe Arpaio seemed bored today as he talked about a U.S. citizen caught with more than 50 pounds of meth."This is important right here," he said as he twiddled his thumbs and looked at the packages of meth, following up his statement with a long pause.See also:MCSO Suddenly Not Arresting "Ill ... More >>

Luis Gonzales Murillo Busted with 13 Pounds of Cocaine in Duffel Bags: Dimwit or Mastermind?

Customs and Border Patrol arrested a man who just tossed his cocaine into a duffel bag in the backseat of his car in an attempt to smuggle it across the border.  Luis Gonzales Murillo, 33, is a Mexican national from the state of Sonora, and allegedly tried to drive the drugs across the border i ... More >>

Inside an Arizona Drug Smuggling Gang

Failed Meth-Smuggling Attempt: Woman Duct-Taped Two Pounds of Meth to Her Belly

In one of the less-thought-out attempts to smuggle meth into the United States, Customs and Border protection officers busted a Washington woman with a couple pounds of meth taped to her belly.Believe it or not, an officer got suspicious when he spotted 28-year-old Laura Ivanez-Ramirez in the pedest ... More >>

Daren Rucker of Tucson Says He Parked Car in Nogales, Arizona, Ended Up With 35 Pounds of Weed in Spare Tire

Don't you hate when you park near Mexico for a few minutes and end up with 35 pounds of weed in your car's spare tire? That's what Daren Rucker, 51, of Tucson says happened to him on Tuesday, according to federal court records. When Rucker pulled up at the northbound U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint ... More >>

Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry

One of five men charged in the 2010 shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry pleaded guilty today to first-degree murder.Three of the four other people charged in Terry's death -- which has been linked to the "Fast and Furious" operation -- are still fugitives, while another was arrest ... More >>

Paul Babeu's Getting Armed Volunteers to (Supposedly) Help Fight Mexican Drug Cartels

Embattled Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu teamed up with state Senator/New Times' "Best Raving Loon" Sylvia Allen yesterday to announce that armed volunteers now be combating drug-smuggling in the county.Babeu's unpaid "Anti-Smuggling Posse" will be the junior-varsity squad for PCSO's SWAT team when ... More >>

Chandler Attorney Helps Client Beat 83-pound Weed Charge, Announces Run for U.S. Senate

A Chandler defense lawyer who helped his client beat a serious marijuana charge says he probably will run for Republican Jon Kyl's soon-to-be vacant U.S. Senate seat, running as a Libertarian.   On July 2, attorney Marc J. Victor's client, 53-year-old, Maria Carillo-Tremillo was foun ... More >>

Vekol Valley Deaths: PCSO Says at Least One Person From the Other Party of Five Was Found

As the Tempe Police Department got verification earlier this month that the five burned bodies found in an SUV in the Vekol Valley were identified as James and Yafit Butwin and their three children, another group of five people was still apparently missing.Pinal County Sheriff's Office spokesman Tim ... More >>

Vekol Valley Bodies ID'd as Tempe Residents; Bullet Casings and Blood Found Inside Home

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's claims that a "violent drug cartel" murdered five people in the Vekol Valley are looking more outlandish and unfounded by the hour.Two of the five charred bodies found inside a burned SUV have been identified by the Pima County medical examiner as James and Yafit Bu ... More >>

Paul Babeu or Tempe Police: Whose Story Are You Buyin'?

It seems Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's not ready to give up on his theories for what happened to the five people killed in the Vekol Valley over the weekend, as the Tempe Police Department has declared it as a murder/suicide.Babeu initially declared that "[a]ll information is pointing that this ... More >>

"Murdercopa County" Has Some Hometown Pride Locked Up in Jail Right Now

Browsing through the "Mugshot of the Day Leader Board" on the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office website always brings a surprise, like the Sunday booking of Vicente Valles, who has the City of Tempe logo tattooed on his chin, and an Arizona State University logo on his cheek.It kind of reminded us of ... More >>

State Representative Doris Goodale's Kids Popped for Heroin Trafficking

The Kingman Police Department wrapped up a three-month investigation into heroin trafficking last week, leading to the arrests of five people -- two of them children of a state legislator.Michael Randolph Goodale, 27, and Stephanie Lynn Goodale, 31 -- both of whom call Republican state Representativ ... More >>

Lancelot Lipe's Accused of Running a Meth Lab in His Sun City Home -- With Three Kids

On April 22, Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies went to the Sun City home of Lancelot Lipe after receiving anonymous calls about a fire burning at his place.According to court documents obtained by New Times, Lipe, 29, didn't want the cops there, as he gave deputies a good ol' "fuck you" when they a ... More >>

Believe it or Not, a Police Officer Says He Found Meth in Moses Ulloa's Car

​According to a Glendale police officer, he found 10 grams of meth in a car being driven by the gentleman to our right.In court documents obtained by New Times, the officer says he was driving the opposite direction of a car on 59th Avenue being driven by 31-year-old Moses Ulloa.Police say Ulloa t ... More >>

Assault Rifle With Ammo, 40 Pounds of Pot Among Items Found in Clean-Up of Federal Desert Lands Near Interstate 8

An assault rifle with loaded magazines and 40 pounds of marijuana are just some of the objects found during a clean-up of federal lands near the smuggling corridor of Interstate 8.Dennis Godfrey, spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, says he'll try to find out exactly what type of weapon ... More >>

Border Agent, Corrections Officer Charged With Helping Traffickers Smuggle Drugs Into U.S.

​A U.S. Border Patrol agent and a corrections officer with the Arizona Department of Correction were arrested yesterday on charges that they helped a drug trafficking organization (DTO) smuggle drugs into the United States.Ivhan Herrera-Chiang, 29, a U.S. Border Patrol agent stationed in Yuma, and ... More >>

Sara Petsinger's Meth/Topless Massage Shop Closed For Business Thanks to Undercover Mesa Cop

MCSOSara Petsinger​Sara Petsinger, 31, is going to need a new job -- her meth/topless massage business was shut down yesterday when she was arrested for selling meth and heroin to an undercover Mesa police officer...in a school zone...as an 8-year-old slept in her apartment.Petsinger and her co-de ... More >>

Garrett Selleys: Xanax Makes Me Want to Burglarize Cars

MCSOGarrett Selleys​According to the medical website drugs.com, some of the side effects of Xanax include decreased sexual desire or ability, diarrhea, dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, light-headedness, nausea, tiredness, and weight changes. One of the more severe side effects (as you can see in ... More >>

Prescott Couple Accused of Baking Out Hotel Room With Heroin Smoke as 11-Month-Old Played in Crib

MCSOStefani Bindes and her baby-daddy, Matthew Nakihei, are accused of child abuse after police found heroin in the hotel room they've been staying in with their 11-month-old daughter.​Heroin's not good for anyone -- especially an 11-month-old baby, like the one who was found in a Scottsdale hotel ... More >>

ICE Agent Leads Police on 45-Minute Chase After Getting Busted in Marijuana Smuggling Sting

ICE Deportation Officer Jason Lowery got popped yesterday during a drug smuggling sting.​Jason Alistair Lowery, 34, is a deportation officer with U.S. Immigration and customs enforcement. He's also allegedly a weed smuggler who led authorities on a 45-minute chase -- in his government-owned vehicl ... More >>

Seventy Percent of Guns Used in Mexican Crimes Traced Back to United States

CNN¡Viva el gun industry!​As Sheriff Joe Arpaio brags on his office for arresting six immigrants heading for the southeast, a group of United States Senators are releasing a report noting 70 percent of captured guns used by drug cartels in Mexico originated in the United States. One of these smu ... More >>

MCSO Infiltration by Mexican Drug Cartel Apparently a Touchy Subject for Joe Arpaio

Kholood Eid This is the face Joe Arpaio makes when you ask him about Mexican drug cartels infiltrating his office.​Don't mention how the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office was infiltrated by a Mexican drug cartel to Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- unless, of course, you want to watch him hijack a press ... More >>

Drug Cartel Infiltration of MCSO: Four of Seven Officers Cleared of Criminal Wrongdoing; Face Internal Investigation

Four employees have been cleared, but drug cartels have still infiltrated the office of America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff."​Four of the seven Maricopa County Sheriff's Office employees suspected of having ties to a drug-and human-smuggling operation have been cleared of any criminal cond ... More >>

Lieutenant Mike Stauffer, Joe Arpaio Opponent, Says MCSO Officers Investigated for Ties to Cartels Should be Put on Leave

Scottsdale Lieutenant Mike Stauffer wants Sheriff Joe Arpaio's job.​As Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio continues to take it on the chin for various acts of mismanagement and corruption within his department -- which now includes Mexican drug cartels infiltrating the MCSO -- the man who wants hi ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Serving Warrants on MCSO Employees Allegedly Involved in Drug and Human Smuggling, County Sources Say *UPDATED*: MCSO Confirms Arrests

​UPDATE: the MCSO confirms to New Times that three sheriff's deputies have been arrested. Click here for details.The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office served search warrants at three west Valley locations this morning, and county sources tell New Times the boys in beige are investigating some of th ... More >>

Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, March 24, 2011

Police Arrest Six Illegal Immigrants in Human Smuggling Operation; Cops Find a Bunch of Weed Too

MCSO Francisco Ruben Martinez-Granillo, charged with possession of marijuana for sale, kidnapping for ransom, smuggling humans for profit, and theft by extortion.​Police arrested six illegal immigrants in Phoenix Wednesday, accusing them of charges ranging from human smuggling, kidnapping f ... More >>

Cops Pull Over Semi on I-17; Find Old Juice and 1,300 Pounds of Pot

DPS"Made possible by the grace of God": 1,308 pounds of weed​Here's another tip from the wide world of marijuana transportation: Apparently a bunch of expired juice boxes isn't a good cover for hauling more than 1,300 pounds of weed. Nonetheless, police allege 45-year-old Wendell M. Stoddart of d ... More >>

Weed Stench Leads Cops to Forest of Marijuana Inside Chandler Home

Chandler Police DepartmentSir Jorien Dwayne Marcette Jackson's house reeks of weed.​If you were to grow more than 300 weed plants inside your house, here's a bit of information that might come in handy next time you're in the Febreeze aisle at Walmart: it's gonna stink. A Chandler man's indoor wee ... More >>

Weed Stench Leads Cops to Forest of Marijuana Inside Chandler Home

Chandler Police DepartmentSir Jorien Dwayne Marcette Jackson's house reeks of weed.​If you were to grow more than 300 weed plants inside your house, here's a bit of information that might come in handy next time you're in the Febreeze aisle at Walmart: it's gonna stink. A Chandler man's indoor wee ... More >>

Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Introduced by GOP State Rep John Fillmore

  Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction, wants to make a possession of marijuana a petty offense, subject to a $100 fine.​The voter-approved medical marijuana system doesn't go far enough for one Republican lawmaker. Under a bill introduced by Representative John Fillmore of Apa ... More >>

Louie Puroll Gets Fired for Lying

Louie Puroll Firing Put in Second Place by Chandler Mall Standoff

The best thing that happened to Louie Puroll and the Pinal County Sheriff's Office yesterday was the standoff out at the Chandler Mall, a made-for-TV incident that put the deputy's firing deep into second place, news-wise. ​ Still, by now everyone who follows local news knows Pinal County S ... More >>

Eight Members of Hells Angels' Rival Motorcycle Gang, Vagos, Arrested in "Operation Sand Castle"

www.agingerbel.com​Eight members of Vagos, a rival motorcycle gang of the Hells Angels, were arrested yesterday in a massive roundup of alleged motorcycle gangsters -- dubbed "Operation Sand Castle" -- believed to be involved in a July brawl at Rio Lomas Beach in Bullhead City.On July 18, police r ... More >>

Cops Find 85 Pounds of Cocaine in Peoria Home. Three Arrests Made

Department of Public Safety"Cocaine's a hell of a drug" - Rick James​To the right is what 85 pounds of cocaine looks like. This pile of coke, as well as about $28,000 in cash, was found in a Peoria home yesterday by officers from the Department of Public Safety. The home, at 8014 W. Yucca Road i ... More >>

76-Year-Old Woman Arrested for Smuggling Cocaine

www.bloodyelbow.com​Typically, senior citizens don't draw too much suspicion from law enforcement, so we're a little shocked to learn that a 76-year-old Mexican woman was arrested for smuggling more than $125,000 worth of cocaine across the U.S./ Mexico border earlier this week.According to offici ... More >>

Prescott Sex Offender Used Airport Shuttle to Make Meth Deals

Partnership for a Drug Free America ​A good way to get caught moving drugs around is to have them in your car while you're driving.  As most cops will tell you (off the record, of course) if they want to pull someone over, it's not hard to find some minor infraction. From window tin ... More >>

Pinalcchio: Renowned Forensics Experts Say a Pinal County Deputy's High-Profile Tale About Getting Shot After Encountering Drug Smugglers Doesn't Add Up

Leader of "RIP Crew" Gets 15 Years in Prison for Cop-Staged Cocaine Robbery and Gun Conviction

​The leader of the "RIP Crew," a group of thugs involved in the illegal-gun and drug business, was sentenced to federal prison on Tuesday.A federal judge handed down a sentence of 15 years in federal prison for 30-year-old Juan Victor Munoz, a convicted felon, for his role in the sale of an il ... More >>

Cuban Drug Dealers Found Guilty After Trying to Buy 22 Pounds of Cocaine

www.popartuk.com​When we hear about large amounts of cocaine and Cuban guys we're instantly compelled to make some lame reference to saying hello to "my little friend." The story of two Cuban nationals who tried to buy 22 pounds of cocaine near Tucson last year isn't nearly as sexy as the na ... More >>

Hit Man Trained by Mexican Cartels

Badlands: For Those Living in the Arizona County That's Ground Zero for Drug and Human Trafficking Along the Border, the Illegal Immigration Crisis Is Personal

Weed and ATVs: Border Patrol Snags Both in Latest Marijuana Bust

www.rowox.comWhere's the weed at? The Arizona desert, that's where.​Border Patrol agents made another substantial weed bust yesterday and as well as becoming the new owners of hundreds of pounds of weed, agents got some sweet, new toys out of the deal, too.Agents on patrol near Three Points notice ... More >>

Marijuana and Watermelons Redux, Redux; More Than 500 Pounds of Weed Found in Truck Carrying Watermelons -- Again

DPS That stuff wrapped in paper is ganja.​For some reason, moving weed with trucks full of watermelons is a big hit with drug dealers. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be a very effective method of transport. For the third time in less than a year a huge amount of marijuana was ... More >>

Terry Goddard Backs Off Assertion That Rancher Was Murdered by Mexican Cartel; Says it's "His Opinion"

Attorney General Terry Goddard​Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, the likely Democratic candidate for governor, believes that the murder of Douglas rancher Robert Krentz was probably the act of a scout working for a Mexican drug cartel, despite little, non-circumstantial evidence sugges ... More >>

George Iknadosian, Accused of Supplying Mexican Cartels With Guns, Sues Arizona, City of Phoenix and Terry Goddard

A Phoenix firearms dealer once accused of supplying ruthless Mexican drug cartels with guns is suing the state, city of Phoenix and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard for malicious prosecution. Last spring, state and federal authorities thought they had nailed George Iknadosian, (right), o ... More >>

Face-Changing Drug Dealer to be Sentenced in November

www.coverbrowser.com​People will do just about anything to avoid the long arm of the law. You know, a cool police chase, hiding out in a friends garage, or how about going to Mexico to have full facial reconstructive surgery and a fingerprint removal procedure.No, this is not the plot of some crap ... More >>

Nearly $10,000 Worth of Meth Found in Potato Chip Bag on its Way to Phoenix

Department of Public SafetyIf you look past the Lays, you can see what police estimate to be close to $10,000 worth of meth​A routine traffic stop resulted in the seizure of nearly $10,000 worth of crystal meth on its way to Phoenix late last week.