Gerald Culverson of Chandler walked out of jail without charges earlier this month after being accused of killing his girlfriend, but ended up in a hospital one week later following a hit-and-run collision. No apparent connection exists between the collision and the earlier arrest of Culverson, Chandler police say. Regardless,…
Andrew Thomas followed up on last year’s rumor that he might run for governor with an official announcement today. Knowing that anything’s possible in Arizona, the so-called meth lab of democracy, we thought we’d put out this helpful voting guide. So, without further ado, we offer you our best eight…
Most suspected cyber-pervs give up quietly when authorities come knocking, judging from the many arrest reports we’ve read. Teddy Jay Blair, 53, of Phoenix, put up some resistance during a Wednesday raid, records show, refusing to drop a knife and trying to run from agents. An FBI agent discovered in…
Developer Conley Wolfswinkel, his family and company will received $1.4 million in the largest Maricopa County payout yet to victims of the legal abuses of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas. As the county just confirmed, the Wolfswinkels are getting more in this settlement than the $1.27…
The costs keep climbing for the corrupt acts of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Late last month, the Board of Supervisors agreed to pay $1.27 million to a former judge smeared with bogus criminal charges, plus another $250,000 to former county Schools Superintendent Sandra…
The feds are bringing another child-porn watcher to justice with the recent guilty plea of Arizona resident Douglas Earl Leach. When Leach’s Peoria home was raided on September 5, 2012, following an FBI investigation, agents found nearly 4,000 child-porn pictures, mostly of young boys engaged in sex acts. At least…
Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk announced in dramatic fashion last July that federal authorities would shut down every medical-marijuana dispensary in Arizona “as it opens.” Polk made the bad prediction in a letter she penned and sent to the governor after getting several other county attorneys to sign it. We…
A $12,000 dinosaur statue installed at an Orange County petting zoo last year is moving to Arizona after being evicted by snooty residents of a historic mission neighborhood. Our state has long been a friend to cheesy dinosaur statues, from Holbrook to the Flintstones Bedrock City in Valle. Now we’ll…
Arpaio’s new office just might be bigger than your first apartment. When the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office headquarters moves this summer from the downtown Phoenix Wells Fargo building to its new digs on Fifth Street and Jackson, the tough-talking, 20-year sheriff will be welcomed into a personal office in the…
A week after being battered on the blogs for its lifeguard-diversity program, the city of Phoenix has responded by throwing one of its employees under the waterbus. Kelly Martinez, a recreation coordinator for Phoenix, “mischaracterized” the city program in a local National Public Radio report, says a news release put…
Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Attorney, is showing his preference for Andrew Thomas-style ethics by pushing for a lenient punishment for Peter Spaw, one of his high-ranking deputy attorneys. Spaw admitted yesterday in an agreement with the state Supreme Court that he committed “conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice,” filing…
The head of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office’s Asset Recovery Bureau, Peter Spaw, has admitted to working on a racketeering lawsuit he knew was unsupported by evidence. Yet the county attorney, Bill Montgomery, won’t say a word about it. Does the admission and potential two years’ probation of his law…
The most interesting developments in the sensational trial of man-killer Jodi Arias this week had nothing to do with the boring, skepticism-inducing testimony by a domestic-violence expert. Two other key events had the public’s attention: The booting of Juror #5 from the jury panel and her subsequent return to the…
Three weeks after catching one examiner.com writer plagiarizing news stories, we stumbled upon another cut-and-paste offender: Kathleen Odenthal. We can’t help but wonder whether examiner.com, which calls itself a “dynamic entertainment, news and lifestyle network that serves more than 20 million monthly readers,” has a serious problem with plagiarism by…
Millions of gallons of sulfuric acid soon could be spewed into underground crevices near Florence following that town’s rescinding of a ban on the substance for mining. Last August, the Town Council in the Southeast Valley burg, mostly recognized for its prison complex, passed an ordinance that prohibited large-quantity use…
State Attorney General Tom Horne says he’ll file a federal action to halt a Bisbee ordinance legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples if the City Council approves it tonight. The proposed ordinance (see full text below) would grant same-sex couples who enter into an official civil union the same legal…
Gerald Lee Culverson of Chandler has been released from jail without any pending charge, despite Monday’s allegation by police that he killed his girlfriend. Based on preliminary information from the county medical examiner, Chandler police today retracted two key details from the probable-cause statement from which we quoted in Monday’s…
A group of men dressed up like a SWAT team and armed with assault rifles robbed and kidnapped three people connected to a pot-selling scheme last month in Litchfield Park. One of the terrified victims jumped from the trunk of a Jaguar going 60 mph while being taken to a…
No cop is going to look into this bag, Richard Miller must have thought early this morning at a Mesa CVS Pharmacy. A Mesa officer arrived at the CVS, 305 East Brown Road, about 4 a.m. after receiving reports of a troublesome trespasser. He found Miller, walking in circles and…
As the Bisbee City Council prepares to adopt an ordinance tonight that would give same-sex couples the right to a civil union that provides the same legal benefits as a marriage, we can’t help but wonder why the rest of the state isn’t doing this. After it passes as expected,…
Jodi Arias’ defense team motioned for a mistrial on Monday, accusing one of the jurors of unspecified misconduct. Trial proceedings were postponed today, but defense attorney Kirk Numri still filed his motion to boot the juror off the panel. The motion comes a few days after Numri sought a mistrial…
In a case that sounds more like a zombie attack than a homicide report, Chandler police busted a 58-year-old trailer-park resident on Friday for allegedly killing his girlfriend and gnawing on her breasts. After Gerald Lee Culverson called paramedics to the home he shared with his deceased girlfriend, Deborah Courtney,…
