Hot Links: Party Crews, Identity Thieves, and Official Flatulence

Here’s some news: teenagers party. But Phoenix police say the parties are getting out of hand, with partygoers forming “crews” and taking over abandoned buildings or setting up in the desert. Police say such bashes can lead to vandalism, assaults, and (surprise!) underage drinking…A thoroughbred horse found wandering free in…

UPDATE: Mormon Murder Trial Jury Still Deliberating

Maricopa County Superior Court jurors in the Doug Grant murder case have been deliberating his fate for 10 hours and counting.  Grant (not the Jason-looking Doug Grant to the left) is charged with killing his wife Faylene back in September 2001 at their Gilbert home. With devout Mormon Faylene’s written blessing, Grant married his…

ASU’s James Harden Named Pac-10 Player of the Year

Although the ASU men’s basketball team didn’t win the Pac-10 Conference championship this year, Sun Devils guard James Harden was named Pac-10 Player of the Year today by conference coaches.The 6-foot-5 sophomore led the Pac-10 in scoring with 20.8 points per game. He also averaged 1.7 steals, 4.1 assists, and…

Phoenix’s Pro Properties, Inc. Fined for Failing to Disclose Lead Warnings

Phoenix-based property management company Pro Properties, Inc. must pay a $7,500 fine for failing to provide federally required lead-warning statements to renters of at some of its properties.   The company’s failure to disclose violates the U.S. Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act, which requires landlords of housing constructed before 1978 to…

Mesa Voters to Decide Fate of Proposed Billion-Dollar Resort Tomorrow

Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment Company has proposed building a mega-resort in Mesa that would include a convention space, retail shops, and an 18-hole golf course. But the company’s dream of turning the East Valley into a major metropolitan hub for conventions and high-profile visitors could be quashed at the polls tomorrow.Gaylord…

“Heroin Ring” Stretched from Chandler to Show Low, Says DPS

On the heels of recent articles across the United States that claim heroin use is surging, the Arizona Department of Public Safety says it recently broke up a major heroin ring based in Chandler. Detectives worked for seven months on the case with members of a northern Arizona anti-drug task force,…

Gilbert Man Frustrated He Can’t Get Cops to Believe He Killed Roommate

You know the feeling: You want to convince people you’re a killer, and no one buys it. Never had that feeling? Well, Gilbert resident Stanely Cook Jr. sure has. The Arizona Republic reports that although Cook confessed to a reporter that he beat Dale Harrell to death in January, police say no evidence justifies that…