The U.S. Border Patrol caught 18 camo-wearing men trying to smuggle 659 pounds of marijuana in backpacks last week through the desert near Gila Bend. Fourteen of them landed in the Maricopa County Jail’s mugshot section, where they stood out for their makeshift uniforms. These guys, no doubt connected to…
At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the fun-filled Fourth Avenue Jail in downtown Phoenix. To be considered for Mugshots of the Week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest. This week: The sequel to our February 2014…
Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles states in a recent news release that marijuana usage has increased statewide because of “looser” marijuana laws that help drug cartels, but can’t or won’t back up the claim. He’s the latest public official to use his and his staff’s time, on the public dime,…
Criminal charges have been dropped against Cary Cole, the 10-year-veteran of the Phoenix Fire Department allegedly caught with 20 pounds of marijuana last year. The motion to dismiss his case, filed by federal prosecutors last week and approved by a judge, means Cole currently faces no legal problems related the…
A Glendale woman who had sex with a 13-year-old boy after she pretended to be a teen online has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Anna Areola-Hernandez, now 24, used the handle “Tiny Hernandez” as she plied the Internet for young men to date. She was arrested in March…
Paranoia over the massive “Jade Helm 15” training exercise by the U.S. Army planned for July has taken a left turn, with concerns emerging about the potential environmental damage and perceived militarization of America. Carol Miller, a community activist and former health official under Presidents Reagan and Clinton, raised the…
A Rocky Point condo owner who may lose her investment didn’t follow Mexican rules for American buyers, another condo owner says. Neal Harris, who tells us he’s on the homeowner association board at Bella Sirena and owns “multiple properties” in the condo tower, contacted us this morning to criticize the…
The Arizona woman who gained fame by earning $114,000 in donations after her arrest for leaving her two kids in a hot car will appear on the “Dr. Phil Show” this Thursday. Shanesha Taylor’s appearance on the popular, nationally syndicated TV show comes a week after a Maricopa County Superior…
A former Scottsdale woman is making a last-ditch effort to avoid losing her Rocky Point condo over a fight between a developer and construction workers. Donna Peckenpaugh faces imminent eviction from her condo at Bella Sirena on Sandy Beach, as well as the total loss of the $350,000 she paid…
A Tempe man received an urgent text message from his roommate on Thursday: Your girlfriend broke into the house, and she’s upset. Not exactly the sort of news anyone wants to hear. Claudia Rose Drinnan, an Arizona State University student and sorority sister, was ticked over something — it’s not clear…
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich has withdrawn his May 4 opinion regarding the use of public resources in elections following intense criticism. A link to the opinion now returns a message of the withdrawal, and Brnovich’s office issued a public statement about it on Thursday: “Attorney General Brnovich takes the…
A popular medical-marijuana club that hosted regular “Farmer’s Markets” was raided by a Glendale SWAT team on Wednesday, resulting in nine arrests at five different locations. Tactical units served search warrants at “locations spanning Glendale, Phoenix and Buckeye,” according to a Glendale police news release, and 20 other people could…
If you gave money to Free Methodist Churches between 2011 and 2013, some of it likely ended up in the pockets of Mark and Marie Ann Stoltz of Phoenix. Marie Stoltz served during that time as secretary and treasurer of the Arizona Light & Life Conference of the Free Methodist…
A law-enforcement task force in Yavapai County cut a $50,000 check from RICO funds to a substance-abuse group dedicated to fighting marijuana legalization in Arizona, New Times has learned. The deal between the Yavapai County-based Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking (PANT) task force and MATFORCE was made soon after the Marijuana…
The Tempe Police Department is sticking by its decision to keep secret the names of two undercover officers involved in the fatal 2013 shooting of a medical-marijuana dealer. Arizona State University, meanwhile, continues to hide the involvement of a campus police officer who was key to the investigation that led…
One of the most shocking claims from the Reverend Jarrett Maupin’s news conference this week was that a college instructor was forced to work for many hours each day without a bathroom break. Gena Radabaugh, an ex-associate instructor of cosmetology at the Maricopa Skill Center at 1245 East Buckeye Road…
Roger Garfield, who shot a homeless man to death in his antiques store in 2006, has completed his prison sentence following two convictions and a labyrinthine legal case. Garfield called us Tuesday to let us know our article last year about his plea deal erroneously stated he’d be in prison…
Civil rights leader Jarrett Maupin and 13 “female abuse victims” will hold a press conference today alleging racism and misogyny at the Maricopa County Community College District. In a breathless news release issued this morning, Maupin writes of college teachers prohibited from taking bathroom breaks, rampant sexual harassment and victims…
If two unnamed Tempe police officers are to be believed, John Wheelihan pointed a scoped rifle at them just before they shot him three times at his home in 2013. No matter that Wheelihan’s weapon turned out to be a pellet gun: It might have looked deadly enough in the…
A Yavapai County-based anti-substance-abuse coalition fighting marijuana legalization has decided to be more honest about who supports it. Following our blog post last week that mentioned MATFORCE’s screwed-up billboard and outdated “About Us” page, the group removed the names of most of its alleged supporters. MATFORCE began years ago with…
Arizona is “leaning friendly” in the U.S. Army’s multi-state, two-month “Jade Helm 15” exercise, but that doesn’t stop some conspiracy theorists from worrying. “This spells trouble, if you ask me,” an anonymous e-mailer wrote us a few days ago. “This ‘drill’ may become active at some point, declaring martial law…
Deputy Sean Pearce was ineligible for defensive-driving class because his speeding ticket involved a fatality, a Glendale judge found earlier this month. Pearce, a Maricopa County Sheriff’s office detective and son of recalled state lawmaker Russell Pearce, had been going 81 mph in a 40-mph-zone while tracking a murder suspect…
