Shanesha Taylor, the Scottsdale mom who left her kids in a hot car in March while on a job interview, has blown today’s deadline to fund trust accounts for her kids. In July, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery signed off on the deal to keep Taylor out of jail as…
Armando Jay Ramirez, a former Phoenix cop and state medical-fraud investigator, has been indicted on suspicion of defrauding veterans’ groups and state and federal agencies. Ramirez, 40, worked for the Phoenix Police Department’s South Mountain Precinct for about five years until his 2011 domestic-violence arrest in Casa Grande. Despite a…
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery wants “full and fair opportunity” to prove in court why a recent ruling allowing bail for jailed undocumented migrants should not stand. The Republican politician put out a news release on Thursday evening saying he’s filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Ninth Circuit of…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is prosecuting a college student with a medical-marijuana card for felony possession of less than a gram of weed. Andre Lee Juwaun Maestas, a 19-year-old Arizona State University student, could end up with a felony on his record, probation and stiff fines because of the…
Shaneshsa Taylor may no longer have enough of her donated money to fund trusts for her children as required under a deferred-prosecution deal, a court motion states. Taylor became an Internet sensation after her March arrest for leaving her kids in a hot car during a job interview, in part…
Medical-marijuana patients are still at risk for a DUI conviction simply for having trace amounts of THC in their bloodstreams, the state Court of Appeals confirmed on Tuesday. In a 3-0 ruling with disclaimers by one judge, the court upheld the conviction of a Mesa man despite an apparent exception…
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Pearce is still under investigation by city prosecutors in connection with his speed-related crash that killed a man in December, New Times has learned. The job of the City Prosecutor’s Office is to prosecute people for misdemeanor crimes, meaning that Pearce, the son of disgraced…
In a festive and history-making scene, some of the first legal same-sex weddings in Arizona took place today next to a government building in downtown Phoenix. The small plaza at 6th Avenue and Jackson Street east of the Maricopa County Clerk of the Superior Court Customer Service Center is normally…
Sean Quaid was just another Arizona gun owner on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he became a hero. Police say Quaid thwarted a bank robbery in north Phoenix on Wednesday by first swiping the keys out of the robbers’ getaway vehicle, then shooting one of the thugs who carjacked a pickup truck…
A grand jury has indicted the four principal suspects, including the son of Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, in the deaths of more than 20 dogs at a Gilbert dog-boarding facility. Austin Flake, his wife, Logan, and the owners of the facility, Jesse Todd and MaLeisa Hughes, now face multiple felony…
John Hauskins, the award-winning transportation chief for Maricopa County, has been ousted from his job following a series of wide-ranging misconduct allegations. Hauskins, also the county engineer, submitted a letter of intent to retire from his position on October 9, two days after he was put on paid administrative leave…
An ex-state trooper who was fired in 2009 after a rocky affair with the state Department of Public Safety director’s daughter is running for Maricopa County Justice of the Peace. Candidate Geoffrey Jacobs is seeking the position in the northwest Valley’s Hassayampa district court, one of 26 county Justice Courts…
A Tucson TV-news site reviewed its policies with staff members on Sunday after posting a Web article claiming falsely that Scottsdale family-killer Robert Fisher had been captured. The article was published briefly on Sunday on the website tucsonnewsnow.com, which is home to both CBS-affliliate KOLD-TV (Channel 13) and Fox-affiliate KMSB…
While tragic and horrifying, the swarming-bee attack that killed a 32-year-old landscaper in Douglas on Wednesday was not a freak occurrence in Arizona. Stories about bee attacks and bee deaths appear regularly in the state — perhaps once a year or more. While not as common as lightning deaths, most…
See updates at bottom of this article Phoenix police have arrested two women in Wednesday’s shooting of an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer, but still seek three other people. Police put out a bulletin tonight with pictures of the three suspects who have “information pertinent to the investigation.” The…
Shayla Jeanne Brattin, nicknamed “Batgirl,” is the second person to be arrested in connection with the June 24 murder of a Glendale church janitor. Police listed the 23-year-old woman as homeless in court records, though most of her Facebook selfies appear to have been taken in a home. She’s accused…
Roughly simultaneous to his feud with the county, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio had been fighting one of the biggest scandals of his time in office – the so-called SCA campaign-finance debacle. The scandal involved a secret organization, sometimes known as the Sheriff’s Command Association, and corresponding slush fund. Retired…
The victim in last month’s Camelback Mountain fatality was 22-year-old Brazilian engineering student Emanuel Rodrigo Biana Costa Bezerra. Local news outlets reported the September 19 incident, but not his name; South American news sites had the full story. New Times obtained the victim’s identity on Wednesday from Phoenix police, who…
Four years ago, when actor Steven Seagal found himself in need of a publicity-hungry, big-city law enforcement agency to help him shoot a reality TV series, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio rolled out the welcome mat. The controversial six-term sheriff hooked up the wannabe cop with Executive Chief Brian Sands,…
Two Phoenix Fire Department captains accused of lying in an arson probe won’t be charged criminally, but their actions have spurred a reform of investigative procedures. In July, officials with the state Department of Public Safety recommended that Captains Sam Richardson and Fred Andes be charged with lying and perjury…
Arizona congressional candidate Wendy Rogers has deleted an excerpt of ISIL’s James Foley beheading video from one of her campaign ads. The Republican and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel caught flak from the Democratic Party, media pundits and probably some of her own supporters after airing the video this week…
Joseph Hui, a.k.a. “Solar Man,” the principle of a Scottsdale solar-power firm, is running for the Arizona Corporation Commission to help businesses just like his. His products, which include “solar awnings” installed on homes and tied to the grid, may reduce the amount of electricity an Arizonan gets from nuclear…
