After four days of deliberation in a landmark federal trial, a jury has sided with the U.S. Department of Justice in its historic case against the leadership of two polygamist towns on the Arizona-Utah border by finding them guilty of religious discrimination against non-adherents of the prevailing fundamentalist faith.. The…
In a bizarre turn of events, U.S. Senator John McCain’s field director for his 2016 re-election campaign, Blaze Baggs, was arrested by Yavapai-Prescott tribal police on February 23 and booked into county jail on a charge of disorderly conduct for allegedly tearing a sign off a casino wall in Prescott…
New details have emerged in a case against Phoenix resident Alejandrina Angel Flores, 27, who was arrested last week and charged with six counts of child abuse. According to court documents, the Phoenix Police Department received a call from Flores’ sister last Thursday about a domestic violence situation at Flores’…
Environmental victories can be few and far between in Arizona, which is why a decision by the U.S. Forest Service to reject a proposal to widen roads and build infrastructure on a parcel of USFS land near the Grand Canyon has conservation groups, Native American tribes, and environmentalists across the…
The future of the long-tortured enclave of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah, hinges on a Phoenix federal court verdict in the U.S. Department of Justice’s historic lawsuit alleging that a fundamentalist polygamous sect controls local governments and the community’s police force. A seven-week trial before U.S. District Court Judge…
There are many personalized license plates in Arizona – tens of thousands of ‘em, in fact – each of which sports a particular message that the owner wants to show off to the world. Some are politically oriented (“BUYAGUN,” “1AZGOP”) while other make reference to sports (“LOLASU”), religion (“ATHEIST”), food…
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery moved forward with second-degree murder charges today against a Mesa police officer for killing a suspect without justification. Philip Mitchell Brailsford, 25, shot and killed Daniel Shaver, 26, of Nashville on January 18 after police were called to a Mesa motel following a report of…
Whether lawyers should be required to join and pay dues to the State Bar of Arizona is a fair subject for debate, certainly. But if anyone’s confused about whether a bill now before the State Senate that guts the State Bar would be a good idea, just look at who…
Despite admitting to sexual intercourse with three victims of crimes he investigated for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s favorite detective, Brian Mackiewicz avoided dismissal during recent disciplinary proceedings, and was hit with an 80 hour suspension instead. A voluminous internal investigation file recently released to New Times…
A longtime computer engineer for Arizona’s court system was arrested on Tuesday after he was caught in a police sting trying to meet a 14-year-old girl at a Gilbert park for sex. Merrill Barton Nelson III, 57, of Gilbert, an 11-year employee of the Arizona Supreme Court, was booked into…
Like symptoms of the varicella-zoster virus, former state Senate President Russell Pearce, proud papa of the Grand Canyon State’s anti-immigrant-gestapo legislation, Senate Bill 1070, is back in the political game, seeking a prestigious seat on the Republican National Committee, the governing body of the national GOP. Arizona has three seats on…
A last-ditch effort by ex-prosecutors Lisa Aubuchon and Rachel Alexander to avoid a $101,294 legal sanction for abusing their power has failed. The ruling against the pair by Arizona U.S. District Court Judge Steven Logan means that disbarred ex-Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas — who would have benefited if the…
Tracy Elise, head priestess and founder of the Phoenix Goddess Temple, has been found guilty on all 22 criminal counts of prostitution, maintaining a house of prostitution, illegal control of an enterprise, money laundering, pandering, racketeering, and conspiracy. The verdict comes five years after she was initially arrested by the…
Tempe and the Arizona Game and Fish Department are working together to save scads of fish from Town Lake before it’s drained completely in preparation for a new dam. Samples of nine different species of sport fish and two species of bait fish will be recovered from the lake in…
Taking a cue from Denver and Pasadena, California, Maricopa County will take money collected at 10 renovated parking meters in downtown Phoenix and give it to homeless programs. The bright yellow meters can be found on the south side of Madison Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues, near the county…
Arizona continues to lead the country in reports of flu-like illnesses, and health officials say they’re not sure why. “It’s hard to say why Arizona is topping the charts this flu season,” Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, stated on the department’s website. She said the…
You know who sucks at naming towns? A lot of people who have set up shop in Arizona.Check out the 10 worst names for Arizona towns — including towns like Santa Claus, Arizona, and Nothing, Arizona — below:…
In the slightly muffled and hiccupy voice of someone who is crying, Tracy Elise, head priestess and founder of the Phoenix Goddess Temple, pleaded with a jury to consider ”the bigger picture” of what delivering a guilty verdict might mean for society during the closing arguments of her trial. ”Sexuality…
The former director of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Medical Center pleaded guilty today to failing to disclose large gifts she received from a VA lobbyist. Sharon Helman, 45, of Surprise, admitted to one felony count of filing a false financial disclosure to the federal government, and will be sentenced to…
From the spare prose of a Glendale Police Department report emerges the macabre scene that confronted police officers and students at Independence High School, a little before 8 a.m. on the morning of February 12. That’s when police, responding to reports of shots fired, rushed through morning traffic and parents…
Ever since the presidential election season really kicked off last summer, pollsters in Arizona have tracked voter preference among the state’s Republican voters, but they have paid little attention to the Democrats. Not any more. Two political consulting firms, MBQF and Marson Media, conducted a phone survey of likely Democratic…
Arizona is the land of guns, with some of the most permissive firearms laws in the country, plus plenty of wide-open spaces to unleash lead. These are some of modern cowboys’ and -girls’ firearms-of-choice, judged by overall popularity and cool-factor, plus over-the-top ability to kill and wound. Whether you take…
