The county lawyer for a detention officer thrown in jail for contempt of court refused to say on Thursday whether the officer was being held in a cell. Adam Stoddard (left) was officially booked into jail this morning following two nights he spent in jail “voluntarily,” according to his lawyer,…
It’s been quite a year of ups and downs for Don Stapley, one of five members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. He started 2009 under the burden of 118 criminal counts. In September, the charges were dismissed because of a technicality that is now being appealed. Three days after the…
An investigation should be launched against four retired and current Maricopa Superior Court judges who committed ethical breaches, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s chief deputy demands in letters to the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct. The complaint letters by Dave Hendershott (left in festive shirt while in Houduras on alleged MCSO business), dated…
Maricopa County detention officers plan to hold candlight vigils starting this evening to protest the jailing of a fellow officer who swiped papers from a defense attorney’s file. The Web site for the Maricopa County Association of Detention Officers says the vigil will run “nightly” from 6 p.m. to 8…
A drug-addled transient who shot and killed two former buddies in their office back in 2004 will serve the rest of his life in prison. Howard Colin Fisk, 38, received two sentences of life in prison today, court officials said. The former Scottsdale resident pleaded guilty to the double murder last…
Patrick Chorpenning, the former director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services, pleaded not guilty today to charges of fraud and misuse of public funds. The state Attorney General’s office is prosecuting Chorpenning after a two-year investigation turned up a mountain of evidence that he had abused his position. An…
A Securities and Exchange Commission supervisor handled the finances for a Scottsdale-based flim-flam artist’s Ponzi scheme, than received a $25,000 retirement buyout package. Investigators with the Arizona Corporation Commission notified the SEC late last year about its naughty employee after finding e-mails from the official to one of the scheme’s victims. The allegation can…
The first reason why the racketeering lawsuit filed today against county leaders is probably going nowhere: It’s being handled by Lisa Aubuchon, the deputy county attorney who has consistently blown politically sensitive cases for Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Under Aubuchon’s leadership, Thomas lost the criminal cases against: Dan Pochoda,…
The detention officer who swiped papers from a defense attorney’s file during an October sentencing hearing will report to jail today, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. “My officer will surrender,” Arpaio said during a news conference, adding that he wouldn’t say exactly where officer Adam Stoddard will be, because of security…
The Mexican government is keeping immigrants safer than it used to on its side of the border, a top official says. Cecilia Romero Castillo, commissioner of Mexico’s National Institute of Migration, told the Los Angeles Times recently that “new controls” begun by the government have reduced the number of extortion attempts…
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas ramped up the fight against county leaders on Tuesday, announcing a federal racketeering lawsuit against “leading” judges, the Board of Supervisors, and a private law firm. Thomas’ office just put out a news release about the lawsuit, saying he’ll give more details at a 2…
A Maricopa County detention officer made a choice last night to defy a judge, and now he faces jail time for contempt of court. The officer, Adam Stoddard, held a news conference Monday but did not apologize for taking papers from a defense attorney’s file, as Superior Court Judge Gary…
County leaders want to know: What part of illegal doesn’t Sheriff Joe Arpaio understand? America’s self-described Toughest Sheriff won’t tolerate tamale-selling illegal immigrants, people who honk their horns or costume-wearing political pundits. But, according to Wesley Baysinger, (below) the county’s chief procurement officer, the Sheriff’s Office committed a felony when…
An apology ordered by a judge in the case of a detention officer who took papers from a defense attorney’s file doesn’t appear to be coming in time for a December 1 deadline. Instead, the judge may receive only a few words tonight from Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The Sheriff’s Office…
Construction on a second lane into Mexico at the U.S. Port of Entry in Lukeville, the gateway to Rocky Point beaches, will begin by the middle of next year, state officials say. The easier cross-border access will be among the topics discussed this weekend at the Arizona-Mexico Commission Plenary Session…
An Indian restaurant owner whose brother was slain in Mesa after the September 11, 2001 attacks attended Tuesday’s state dinner with President Obama and the Indian Prime Minister.The Arizona Republic reports that Rana Singh Sodhi and his wife, Sukhbir Kaur, dined at the White House with 338 people — and…
On the mean streets of El Salvador back in the ’90s, a young girl learned how to turn a knife in a victim in order to avoid being covered in a torrent of blood. Now 27, the self-described MS-13 gang member stands accused of putting that skill to use. Mesa…
A week has passed since the son of a Scottsdale banker disappeared after a late-night party in Frankfurt, Germany, but no clues have turned up. “There have been a lot of resources called in to assist us, but to date there are no hints, no nothing,” Jeff Hollahan told Germany’s…
Valley Fever told you about one kids toy this year, and it turned out to be what the Associated Press now calls “this year’s bona fide must-have toy.”Zhu Zhu Pets hamsters, formerly called Go Go Pets hamsters, got their start with some test marketing in Phoenix this past spring. Valley…
Dirt on Don Stapley, a 15-year member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, began flowing in spring 2008 from County Attorney Andrew Thomas’ office. A paper trail of Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office documents reveals the genesis of the case, though with potentially telling details omitted. Records state that the…
The East Valley Tribune could be in for a serious change in direction under the helm of its possible rescuer, Randy Miller, owner of Tucson’s Explorer newspapers. Miller has surfaced as the hopeful buyer of the battle-worn Trib, and a finalized letter of intent with the Trib’s parent company, Freedom Communications,…
The most troubling thing about swine flu, a.k.a. H1N1, is who it kills: Young people. Or, if not young, certainly younger than any normal idea of “old.”With seasonal flu, about 90 percent of deaths occur in people over age 65, experts say.In Arizona this year, 103 people are confirmed to…
