James Holmes

Did Phoenix Police Need to Kill Zachariah Pithan?

During the uproar over the 2010 shooting death of South Phoenix resident Danny Rodriguez by former Phoenix Police Officer Richard Chrisman, I often wondered why two Phoenix cops could not subdue one unarmed man without resorting to lethal force. See also: -Richard Chrisman Report Released by Phoeni ... More >>

Jeremy West Rode a School Bus to Elementary School, Which Is Creepy Because He's 29

The reason the phrase "stranger danger" exists is because of people like Jeremy West.Yesterday, Phoenix PD put out a bulletin to media, in an attempt to identify the grown man who, A) asked a kid if he wanted a "a cigarette or a fix," B) hopped on a school bus to Simpson Elementary School in Phoenix ... More >>

Rickesha Burns Accused of Shoving Vibrator Into 2-Year-Old Son's Anus

A Phoenix woman is accused of shoving a vibrator into her 2-year-old son's anus, and doctors told police that surgery will be required to remove it.According to court documents obtained by New Times, 21-year-old Rickesha Burns called police Sunday, reporting that her son was bleeding from his anus.

Trent Franks Makes List of the 10 Weirdest Members of Congress

'Til Death Do Us Part: Arizona's Dangerous Love Affair with Guns

NRA's Wayne LaPierre and Neo-Nazi Agree on Sandy Hook Solution: More Guns

It's dang encouraging to learn that the National Rifle Association's top propagandist Wayne LaPierre is practically on the same page as Maricopa, Arizona neo-Nazi Harry Hughes regarding what the nation should do in response to the massacre of the innocents in Newtown, Connecticut. More guns! As I ... More >>

Jared Loughner's Tucson Shooting an "Isolated Act," but Newtown May Not Be, Survey Says

According to the court of public opinion, last week's shooting at a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school isn't viewed as an "isolated act," unlike the shootings carried out by Jared Loughner and James Holmes.Although the public's just about split on the issue, a Pew Research Center survey shows m ... More >>

Glendale High School Student Showed Up to Class Imitating the "Joker"

A student at Glendale's Mountain Ridge High School probably scared the pants off just about everyone yesterday when he showed up to class trying to imitate the Joker, the character from the Dark Knight movie.Despite reports stating otherwise, Deer Valley Unified School District spokeswoman Heidi Veg ... More >>

Erasmo Ledezma, Ex-Con Released Early From Prison, Murdered on Thanksgiving Day by Unknown Attacker

Erasmo Ledezma, a 26-year-old Phoenix scofflaw, might have felt hope on the day he was released from prison last year after having served four years for theft. Though he'd been convicted of theft, Department of Corrections records show he'd been released a couple of years early in a 2004 program se ... More >>

Michael Turley Wanted to "Test" Phoenix Cops -- With a Kid Dressed as a Terrorist Running Around With a Fake Grenade Launcher

How long would it take the Phoenix Police Department to respond to a terrorist situation?Michael Turley really wanted an answer to that question, and he got it -- by getting a 16-year-old kid to wear a sheet on his body, put a towel on his head, and run around Phoenix with a fake rocket-propelled gr ... More >>

Michael Turley Allegedly Put His Own Nephew Up to the Task of Pretending to Be a Terrorist

The 16-year-old kid wearing a sheet on his body and a towel on his head, who ran around a Phoenix intersection with a fake rocket-propelled grenade launcher, was Michael Turley's own nephew, according to court documents obtained by New Times.Turley was arrested after police discovered he allegedly p ... More >>

A Woman Was Held in Jail Because Authorities Thought She Was Illegal

Rebekah Mellon Was Caught on Video Shooting Her Husband in the Head, Prosecutor Says

It turns out there's more evidence leading police to believe Rebekah Mellon murdered her husband Tuesday night at their home in the Willo neighborhood -- the whole shooting was recorded on video.Mellon made her initial appearance in court yesterday, and a prosecutor explained that he got word from t ... More >>

NRA PAC Endorses Russell Pearce Despite His Blame-the-Victims Remarks on Aurora Massacre

See also: Russell Pearce Blames Victims for Dark Knight Massacre (w/Update) See also: Russell Pearce on Blast for Racist E-mails in New Dennis Gilman Video See also: Russell Pearce Apologizes, Kinda-Sorta, for Dark Knight Massacre Remarks In a major political gaffe that's sure to resonate across th ... More >>

The Writer's Guild Release Song in Response to Dark Knight Rises Shooting in Colorado

See also: Russell Pearce Blames Victims for Dark Knight Massacre See also: Russell Pearce Apologizes, Kinda-Sorta, for Dark Knight Massacre Remarks The individual artists of local hip-hop co-op The Writer's Guild are focusing on their individual endeavors at the moment, but they're constantly remai ... More >>

Russell Pearce Blames Victims for Dark Knight Massacre

See also: Russell Pearce's Racism "Discovered" by Arizona's Media See also: Russell Pearce's Mexican-Bashing E-mails Slammed By Randy Parraz, Others Recalled, disgraced ex-state Senate President Russell Pearce's heart, or what little there is of it, goes out to the victims of the Dark Knight Rises ... More >>

Colorado "Dark Knight" Theater Shooting: Police and Fire Radio Traffic Reveals Chaos at Scene

See also: Shooting at a Midnight Screening of The Dark Knight Rises Leaves 12 Dead, 50 Injured in Colorado Chilling radio traffic by police and fire fighters released on the Web reveals the chaos found by first responders at the scene of the mass shooting at a Colorado theater. At least 12 people ... More >>

Ramon Rivera's DNA Was Taken After a Drug Arrest -- Now He's Charged With Sex Crimes

A DNA match led to the July 5 arrest of a man who police say is responsible for at least two sexual assault cases from 2004 and 2006.Phoenix police recently arrested Ramon Manuel Rivera, 50, on several counts of felony sexual assault, sexual abuse, and kidnapping. In May, police were able to link Ri ... More >>

Joshua and Carlena Pinkerton Allegedly Abused Mentally Disabled Family Member to Death

A 22-year-old mentally disabled man is dead after sustaining at least a dozen injuries, allegedly at the hands of family members.Joshua and Carlena Pinkerton, the man's brother-in-law and sister, brought him to the hospital Friday after he collapsed in the bathtub, and a doctor called Phoe ... More >>

Nude Woman By A Statue UPDATE: All Things Good, Downtown Survives

​We wrote yesterday morning about our sighting of a nude person standing in front of the "Release the Fear" metal sculpture at Central and Roosevelt. It was quite the sight, as was the open-mouthed reactions from passersby in their business attire and so forth. We contacted our friends at the ... More >>

Phoenix Block Watch Treasurer Busted Stealing Funds Meant for Neighborhood Watch, Police Say

www.cromer.com​The treasurer of a neighborhood watch organization in Phoenix was busted today for allegedly stealing money from the organization over a two-month period.Ready for the kicker? A lot of that money came from grants from the financially-fucked City of Phoenix.Phoenix Police Detective J ... More >>

Correction: Phoenix P.D. Investigation Finds That Grindr iPhone App Not Involved in Yesterday's Murder

Grindr.com​Yesterday, we posted a story about a man who was murdered by a man he met on what we were told by the Phoenix Police Department was an iPhone application called Grindr. Grindr is a social networking site that links gay men with other gay men in their area using GPS on their iPhones -- ... More >>

iPhone's Gay "Cruising" App Leads to Murder of Phoenix Man, Police Claim

​Murder? Apparently there's an app for that, too. That's according to Phoenix police who say a local guy was murdered by a 19-year-old fellow he met using a popular iPhone app often used by gay men to hook up. Mark G. Woodland, 54, was found dead at his apartment in the 3800 block of East Gree ... More >>

Phoenix Police Aircraft Targets of Two Laser-Pointer Incidents in Two Days; 14-Year-Old Suspect Arrested

www.geekgaz.com​The Phoenix Police Department wants to make itself very clear: If you shine a laser pointer at a police aircraft and get caught, you should prepare to be fucked by the long dick of the law.They didn't use those words exactly, but Phoenix police Sergeant James Holmes wants Pho ... More >>

Conversion Van for the Recession: Gasoline Theft-Mobile Rigged for Big-Time Siphoning

  Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Jared DeSanti and Robert Jeter are accused of stealing hundreds of gallons of gas. The third suspect, George Brabakos, is not pictured. ​ According to Phoenix police, these guys really suck. Using a van equipped with removable floorboards and ... More >>

Phoenix Man Busted After Robbing Three Stores in 20 Minutes, Getting His Car Stuck in the Mud, and a Brief Swim

www.doroteofiles.com​A Phoenix man was arrested this afternoon after robbing three stores in 20 minutes, getting his car stuck in the mud, and leading police on a foot chase that ended in a nearby lake.According to Phoenix police Detective James Holmes, 20-year-old John Michael Krol robbed a Kentu ... More >>

Phoenix Man, Who Worked as a Church Counselor, Accused of Sexually Exploiting an 11-Year-Old Girl

Garrett Allen Baker​"Wish they all could be California girls?" Make sure they're old enough to vote, first.A Phoenix man, who worked as a church camp counselor, was arrested yesterday for sexually exploiting an 11-year-old California girl.The man, 21-year-old Garrett Allan Baker, was sending the g ... More >>

Nativists Go Nuts at a Phoenix Walmart, and the Arizona Republic Belittles the U.S. Attorney’s Investigation of Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Party Favors: At Rasputin's Equestrian Manor, the Debauchery Continues Well Past Closing Time

Cop Accidentally Shoots Self in (Guess Where?) at Phoenix Police Academy

www.teeshirtpusher.com​The Phoenix Police Department has just confirmed to New Times that one of its officers accidentally shot himself at the department's police academy this morning.As the old saying goes, a Phoenix cop "shot himself in the foot."(Brief pause for laughter.)

DEATH VALLEY: Phoenix Police Won't Label Murder a Hate Crime but Suggest There Were Racial Overtones

​Phoenix police are looking for the man responsible for the shotgun slaying of a woman in Phoenix early Saturday morning.Police say white 39-year-old Kelley Jaeger and her black friend, 48-year-old Jeffrey Wellmaker, were walking together in Palma Park at 12th Street and Dunlap Avenue whe ... More >>

Phoenix Convention Center Evacuated in Response to Lunch Bag and Idiot's Bomb Comment

flickr.com​Thousands of people were forced to leave the Phoenix Convention Center this afternoon after a mysterious bag and a bonehead comment sparked a police investigation and an all-out evacuation.Phoenix police say shortly after 1 p.m., a man brought a bag to a Convention Center security ... More >>

Phoenix Police See Spike in Heroin Use

www.motivatedphoto.com​Just when we though crystal meth reigned supreme as the drug of choice among hard dopers, here's this blast from the past. Remember heroin? Well drug addicts sure do, and according to Phoenix police, "smack" is coming back in a big way."Between January 2006 and January ... More >>

Mark Spencer, PLEA President, and the Dark Spots on His Career Record

from PLEASpencer has his own agenda when it comes to the issue of immigration ​In response to my request for a comment from the Phoenix Police Department concerning Phoenix Law Enforcement Association President Mark Spencer's challenge to the current Operations Order 1.4.3, PPD spokesman Jame ... More >>

Phoenix Police Raid a Local Pastor’s Home For Holding Church Services

"Ma Barker" and Teen Robbery Crew Arrested in Phoenix, Cops Say; Mom and Sons, 12 & 14 years old Sought Victims

Image: www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk Police are accusing a Phoenix woman, her two young sons and their friends of a series of local robberies, comparing the woman to the infamous Midwestern criminal of the 1930s, "Ma" Barker. Actually, this crime makes Ma Barker look like Mother Theresa. "It' ... More >>

High-Tension Armed Robbery at Phoenix Credit Union Ends With All Suspects Captured

MCSO mug shotDavid Tongate The pair of robbers entered the credit union suddenly, yelling at employees, waving a gun.Police say the robbery of the Sun West Federal Credit Union yesterday was more like Point Break than the average pass-a-note-and-run kind of bank stick-up.But it was also like America ... More >>

Craigslist Car Buyer Commits Hit-And-Run on Child at Seller's Home, Say Cops

  A man named "Eddie" who responded to a Craigslist ad for a car on Monday drove his own vehicle into a toddler at the seller's Phoenix home, then fled the scene, police say. The would-be buyer, who allegedly carried the injured 16-month-old boy to his parents ... More >>

The Taser: Almost Never a Lethal Weapon

Examples of stun-gun use