A Phoenix man who pleaded guilty to charges that he locked his 14-year-old daughter in a bathroom for months, barely fed her, and forced her to exercise until exhaustion, was sentenced to 15 years in prison this morning.Additionally, Scott Bass, 31, was sentenced to lifetime probation by Maricopa County Superior…
“She is definitely dead — I put two to the chest and one to the head.”That’s what Anthony Rinaldi — now a former Department of Corrections officer — told a Department of Public Safety officer last night, less than 30 minutes after fatally shooting his wife, 28-year-old Amanda Rinaldi, at…
A federal grand jury returned an indictment this morning alleging that a Queen Creek pain management doctor billed the state health care program for patients he never actually saw. The scammed money, the feds say, was used to buy several pricey items, including an Arabian horse. The indictment also alleges…
An officer with the Arizona Department of Corrections turned himself into authorities last night and confessed to murdering his wife at the Phoenix home the couple shared.The officer’s two young children were in the home at the time of the shooting.Phoenix police say about 6:20 p.m. yesterday, Anthony Rinaldi, 26,…
What kind of heartless soul would hassle a 79-year-old man holding a puppy about botched sex-crime investigations? No-nonsense 12News reporter Brahm Resnik, that’s who.Resnik tracked down Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio at the Christmas party for the MCSO’s MASH Unit to ask him how more than 400 sex-crime investigations were…
The National Transportation Safety Board announced yesterday that it’s now urging all states to impose total bans on people using cell phones while driving.The board determined texting, sexting, emailing, chatting — whatever — is too dangerous to do while driving a vehicle.The recommendation includes exceptions for emergencies and devices that…
Phoenix police confirmed this afternoon that one of its own is facing felony domestic violence charges stemming from an incident at his Casa Grande home over the weekend.In addition to being a Phoenix police officer, Armando Ramirez is a reserve in the United States Marine Corps. who just returned from…
Arizona Congressman Ben Quayle today officially joined several other GOP members of Congress in calling for Attorney General Eric Holder to step down over “Fast and Furious,” the Justice Department’s botched gun-running sting.Previously, Quayle politely asked Holder if he had any intentions of stepping down.Quayle, however, remains mum on the…
Sorry, gentlemen, according to her Facebook page, Brandi Farnberg, 23, is in a relationship. According to police, she’s also an alleged car thief with aliases like “Sabrina Angelo,” “Brandy Torres,” and “Kacey Whitmore.”Farnberg was arrested early yesterday morning after she was stopped by police while driving a stolen car. Additionally,…
Taylor Jose Basilio told police earlier this week that he’s done some “stupid things” lately. Specifically, he beat his 7-week-old son so violently that the baby’s skull was fractured in two places.Basilio and his wife, Candace Basilio, each of Phoenix, brought the baby to a pediatrician last week to get…
Congratulations to the New Times reader who goes by the handle Joe Mamma, you are the proud winner of this week’s New Times You Write the Caption contest.On Friday, we asked readers to provide what they think would be an appropriate caption for the above cover of Globe, and Maricopa…
The Chandler Unified School District decided yesterday to uphold a semester-long suspension for five eighth grade students who threatened to kill their teacher by — among other methods — setting her on fire, cutting out her tongue, drowning her, or running her over with a truck.See our post on the…
If 20-year-old William Lowe’s aspiring to become a ruthless serial killer, he may be on the right track. Like Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, and David Berkowitz before they were cold-blooded killers, Lowe apparently gets his kicks by hurting defenseless animals.According to police, Lowe shot a puppy with a high-powered pellet…
Since the old, 2009 Pulitzer Prize-worthy tale of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s 432 botched sex-crime investigations was thrust into the national spotlight thanks to an oddly timed Associated Press article last week, two of Arizona’s three Democratic members of Congress have called for his resignation (Gabrielle Giffords hasn’t commented…
A junior high school student in Chandler will have to sit out the entire semester after she and a few friends jotted down some plans about how to best murder their language arts teacher earlier this year.Some of the ideas that made the students’ list (which you can see below)…
Police say a Scottsdale man got hammered on liquor and beer Saturday afternoon, sexually assaulted his own wife, verbally abused his nephew and daughters, and then tried to stage a fight between a chihuahua and a pit bull.When the two pooches didn’t fight, 48-year-old David Shelburg Jr. slammed their heads…
The Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers 21-19 yesterday for the team’s fifth win in 6 games — and that’s after starting the season 1-6.Cards’ quarterback Kevin Kolb went down early with concussion-like symptoms after getting drilled by Niners linesbacker Ahmad Brooks.Enter B-squad QB John Skelton, who replaced Kolb…
Last week, in honor of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s (embarrassing) investigation into the continuously debunked “birther” conspiracy theory (and the friggin’ beating America’s self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff” is taking in the press these days) we submitted the above cover of Globe, one of the sheriff’s favorite publications, for this week’s…
In the wake of the national media attention his office has received over hundreds of botched sex-crime investigations, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has made no secret that there are “other local agencies” who absolutely suck at investigating sex crimes, too.The sheriff hasn’t named names, but we’re stunned to find…
Scottsdale-based Taser International, the manufacturer of stun guns used by police departments all over the world, is off the hook for two Taser-related deaths because the two men who died each had PCP in their systems when they were zapped by authorities.One of the men apparently was a steroid user,…
Eugene Foster’s girlfriend’s teen daughter will probably think twice before she takes naked pictures of herself on her cell phone. That’s because Foster taught her a “lesson” Wednesday night — by sending naked photos of the girl to dozens of contacts stored in her cell phone.Many of those who received…
Clergy child-abuse expert Janet Heimlich will be in Scottsdale this afternoon to give a talk about abuse within the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a sect of Mormon polygamists once led by Warren Jeffs.Heimlich is the author of Breaking Their Will, an expose on maltreatment of children…
