Members of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office posse in Sun City West and other locations were relieved of their duties and sent home over the weekend in a possible dispute over insurance. Sheriff Joe Arpaio claims this isn’t a “story” yet but may be a “big story” if he’s unable…
Moviegoers who see “Cesar Chavez” when it opens today can expect a feel-good flick that portrays the Yuma-born legend as almost saintly. The movie doesn’t enlighten viewers about Chavez’s intense opposition to “illegals” and “wets,” as he called undocumented immigrants. You may have heard that Chavez preached against illegal immigration,…
In a ruling with wide impact on the Arizona medical-marijuana program, Zander Welton and his family have won their battle to provide extracts to the boy for his seizures. The East Valley family sued on October 29 in Maricopa County Superior Court, receiving legal help from the American Civil Liberties…
It’s a beautiful day here, outside of the Tempe City Hall and police department, but our blood is boiling because of the PD’s ignorance of public-records law. Tempe police apparently never got the memo Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne sent to the state in December: Taking pictures of public records…
The 23-year-old Glendale woman we told you about Thursday, Anna Areola-Hernandez (or “Tiny Hernandez,” as she called herself on Facebook), gave a 13-year-old boy an undisclosed STD, and she believes she’s pregnant with his child, a police report says. She’s been in contact with other boys, cops state…
Arizonans who want to fight marijuana legalization in this state have two strong allies in powerful positions: State Senator Kimberly Yee and Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk. Like would-be leaders of a modern-day women’s temperance movement, the two Arizona politicians share a strong belief that cannabis users deserve to be…
A 23-year-old Glendale woman who pretended to be a teen online had sex with at least one boy under 15, police say. Anna Areola-Hernandez, who sports a tattoo of a pair of red lips on her neck, was booked into jail today on suspicion of three counts each of sexual…
Former antiques dealer Roger Garfield has taken a plea deal that requires him to serve four more years in prison for killing an unarmed homeless man in his store in 2006. The deal to plead guilty to manslaughter, offered by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, ends a lengthy legal roller-coaster…
Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne is praising a Kansas court ruling that he claims will curb the problem of “illegals” voting. A political victory for Horne and anti-illegal-immigrant crusader Kris Kobach, Kansas’ secretary of state, the ruling by U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren in Wichita says that the U.S. Election…
A key member of Jodi Arias’ defense team who was banned from the Maricopa County Jail for questionable reasons will be allowed back as early as today, her lawyer says. Dan Raynak, lawyer for mitigation specialist Maria De La Rosa, tells New Times that an agreement was reached between Arias’…
Jodi Arias should not get the death penalty due to “outlandish actions” by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in targeting a member of her defense team, Arias’ lawyers argue. A motion reviewed by New Times — filed in Superior Court Tuesday by Arias’ defense team — goes into detail about…
Former Arizona lawmaker Scott Bundgaard has dropped the $10 million lawsuit he filed against the city of Phoenix following his 2011 fight with an ex-girlfriend. In a statement released to New Times and other media outlets, Bundgaard says that dropping the lawsuit without being awarded a dime is, somehow, “vindication.”…
The Maricopa County Community College District urged voters to approve $951 million in bond sales in 2004 to prepare for a 60-percent projected increase in student enrollment. After it passed, the district spent hundreds of millions from the sale of the bonds to add or renovate nearly 2 million square…
A man believed to be high on drugs stole an Orbit bus in Tempe this morning and took it for a dangerous ride through neighborhoods and across railroad tracks before crashing into a backyard fence. The suspect, later identified as James Martin, 26, was taken into custody after he jumped…
Not long after taking office, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery formed a special panel of prosecutors to review cases of claimed self-defense. The Republican politician stated in a news release at the time that the panel was designed to ensure people claiming self-defense would not have their Second Amendment rights…
Krokodil may be the scariest drug on the planet, but there’s scant evidence so far that the flesh-eating heroin substitute has ever left Russia. Why anyone would inject or otherwise consume krokodil is also uncertain, given that experts say it literally rots flesh off the bone. News reports last year…
In a case of life imitating art, methamphetamine with a tint of blue, just like Walter White’s “Blue Sky” product, is turning up routinely on the streets of Phoenix, cops say. Meth dealers tell their customers the blue powder will get them higher, says Phoenix police Sergeant Tommy Thompson, but…
A humorous brief to the U.S. Supreme Court filed last week invokes Stephen Colbert’s concept of “truthiness” in a defense of the right to tell fibs about elected leaders. Penned by lawyer Ilya Shapiro on behalf of the Cato Institute and satirist P.J. O’Rourke, the amicus brief, written to defend…
The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Monday in support of the continued jailing and prosecution of marijuana users. Influenced by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, a staunch marijuana foe, the 4-0 vote for a resolution in favor of prohibition was calculated to help derail planned legalization efforts…
A humorous TV ad featuring a back-alley sushi dealer is getting called the first commercial promoting marijuana ever to run on “mainstream” television. Cable mega-company Comcast signed a deal with MarijuanaDoctors.com to start airing the ad for two weeks in New Jersey on Fox, CNN, A&E, and other cable networks…
Bill Montgomery has been stymied in two separate cases of medical-marijuana patients who possessed small amounts of concentrated marijuana. Records show that the Republican county attorney will continue to try to saddle one of the valid patients with a felony conviction. But before we tell you about the patient, we…
A Laveen-based group shipped nearly two tons of pot through the U.S. Mail in the past three years, a federal indictment states. Oneil Watson (a.k.a. Richard Powell), was indicted on Friday, and Kerry Ann Hoo, Marlon Powell, Albert Kelly, Rebekah Robertson and Priscilla Zuniga were indicted on February 25th in…
