The jury in the sensational trial of boyfriend-slayer Jodi Arias is expected to hear testimony today from Arias’ defense attorneys, who’ll try to argue that Arias doesn’t deserve execution. Arias has said she prefers life in prison. As we reported last week, state officials say Arias could be executed in…
Pot by itself was not much of a factor in injury and fatal crashes probed last year by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Fewer than 1 percent of suspected impaired drivers involved in such crashes tested positive for nothing but marijuana. New Times’ findings, based on a records request…
Smoking marijuana has “remarkable” effect on diabetic problems and may lower risk of getting the disease, a study published on Wednesday states. This news comes a few days after a presentation at the annual conference of the American Urological Association that links heavy pot use to a much lower risk…
The engrossing saga of convicted slasher Jodi Arias is wrapping up after the jury took about an hour on Wednesday to decide her fatal attack on Travis Alexander was “especially cruel.” Next up in the marathon trial that’s gone on since January 2nd: impact statements by Alexander’s family and the…
In an exclusive post-conviction interview, boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias insisted that she didn’t plan to kill 30-year-old Travis Alexander in 2008. But now that she’s been convicted of premeditated murder, she’d “prefer to die sooner than later.” Jodi Arias’s Murder Trial: Complete Coverage Arias went on to say to Channel 10’s…
Upgrading airplane engines for Venezuela’s air force in violation of an arms embargo has resulted in a $250,000 fine and five years’ probation for Phoenix resident Floyd Stilwell. The 87-year-old former owner of Marsh Aviation in Mesa knew he shouldn’t have been doing such work for Venezuela after the 2006…
Bryan Teague of Peoria pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts related to the 5,220-acre wildfire he caused last August in the Tonto National Forest by putting a propane tank in a campfire. Teague, 56, faces the possibility of up to six months in prison, a $5,000 fine, and five years…
In an exclusive post-conviction interview, boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias insisted that she didn’t plan to kill 30-year-old Travis Alexander in 2008. But now that she’s been convicted of premeditated murder, she’d “prefer to die sooner than later.” Arias went on to say to Channel 10’s Troy Hayden, “Longevity runs in my…
After New Times writer Matthew Hendley reported that Phoenix police took in an assault rifle at last weekend’s “buyback” event, we were curious what kind of gun it was. Turns out that, in exchange for a $200 gift certificate, an anonymous donor gave up a Colt AR-15 believed to be…
The family of Travis Alexander agrees with the first-degree murder jury verdict against Jodi Arias, and plans to sue Arias in the near future, the family’s lawyer said today.. Jay Beckstead, the family’s lawyer, announced the planned wrongful death suit against Arias today on the steps of the Maricopa County…
Chances seem slim-to-none that Jodi Arias will escape a death sentence. The Maricopa County jury which today found Arias guilty of first-degree murder is scheduled to begin hearing the aggravation, or penalty, phase of the trial tomorrow starting at 1 p.m. Witnesses will likely be called for this phase, meaning…
Jodi Arias was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder today, and now the jury must decide whether or not to put Arias to death. The jury also found Arias guilty of felony murder. The penalty phase of this trial, which already has lasted four months, will start at 1 p.m…
Steve Carpenter has resigned as a deputy from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office following accusations that he helped another deputy in a plan to assault a North Dakota man. No allegation ever surfaced that Carpenter helped former deputy Tim Abrahamson pummel West Fargo resident Jason Swart, who’d had an affair…
Abengoa, the Spanish renewable-energy giant, will build a $110 million garbage-to-electricity plant in Glendale for Chicao’s VIESTE Energy, Abengoa announced Monday. The plant, which will be sited at the Glendale Municipal Landfill, 11480 West Glendale Avenue, will convert about 180,000 tons of sorted trash (including plastics) annually, an Abengoa news…
Tim Abrahamson, a former Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputy, pleaded guilty today to assaulting his wife’s lover in North Dakota. He faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced on June 27th, says Cass County prosecutor Tristan Van de Streek. Meanwhile, Deputy Steve Carpenter, Abrahamson’s apparent accomplice in…
Lisa Allen certainly knows the answer to the question she posed in a letter to the editor published in Saturday’s Arizona Republic. Click here to read Lisa Allen’s letter to the editor. In the letter, the longtime spokeswoman for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio congratulates the Phoenix Police Department for…
The jury in the Jodi Arias murder trial huddled at 9 a.m. this morning on its big decision following about an hour of deliberations on Friday. The panel’s decision will be announced about an hour or less after it’s made, court staff tells us this morning. Whether individual jury members…
Longtime Arizona Division of Occupational Safety Health director Darin Perkins has stepped down and is being replaced by risk manager Bill Warren. The Industrial Commission of Arizona, which oversees the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health, (known by its friendly acronym, ADOSH), voted during its April 19 meeting to…
For the millions of people who now use marijuana legally under their states’ laws, driving in Arizona is technically a crime. Motorists with pot metabolites in their bloodstreams who want to avoid a marijuana DUI — which comes with nasty fines and a one-year suspension of driving privileges, instead of…
A couple of large mason jars full of green buds sit on the coffee table inside Tad Zaccard’s west Mesa mobile home as he talks about his marijuana-DUI ticket. “I’m a grower,” admits Zaccard, a 46-year-old nutrition adviser who works for a local hospital. As one of the state’s 38,000…
We can’t tell you precisely why several U.S. senators, including Jeff “Pond Scum” Flake, voted against a bill aimed at expanding background checks for gun purchases. Sure, the powerful NRA likely had some influence. But how could anyone vote against something that 90 percent of Americans want? One possible answer…
Peter Spaw, the negligent deputy county attorney who helped harass innocent officials with a merit-less racketeering lawsuit, will have his law license put on probation for two years, the state’s Disciplinary Judge has ruled. Spaw, who still has his high-level job as the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Asset Recovery Bureau…
