Crime & Police

Independent lawyers for the State Bar of Arizona again recommend disbarment for former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, referring to his arguments with words like “absurd.”Thomas’ former sidekick, Lisa Aubuchon, should also be stripped of her law license, says the 37-page reply (see below) to the former prosecutors’ closing argument…

Jason Amos is in a little bit of trouble.You see, he recently got a 17-year-old girl pregnant, which wouldn’t be a huge deal if Amos wasn’t 25 — but he is, and he now faces several sex with a kid-related crimes.According to court records obtained by New Times, the 17-year-old’s…

After nearly three decades on Death Row, convicted killer Robert Moorman finally has a date with death.In November, the Arizona Supreme Court issued an execution warrant for Moorman. This morning, the Court set a date: February 29.Moorman was first sent to prison on a kidnapping conviction out of Coconino County…

News out of Canada a few days ago about the first-degree murder convictions and life sentences of a man, his wife, and their 21-year-old son:  Their victims were the parents’ three daughters, ages 19, 17, and 13, and the husband’s first wife. Authorities found the bodies of the four females submerged…

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced yesterday that two men have been arrested for allegedly breaking into the Anthem medical facility where MCSO Deputy Bill Coleman was murdered earlier this month by 30-year-old “UFO-ologist” Drew Ryan Maras, who was sleeping in the parking lot and likely has nothing to do…

A mentally ill Mesa man was arrested Friday after police say he sexually assaulted his court appointed therapist in her office.Robert Gene Hebner III has a history of substance abuse. He has multiple convictions for crimes like endangerment and marijuana possession, according to records on the Maricopa County Superior Court’s…

If you have any information about who’s responsible for gouging out the eyes of a miniature pinscher and using him for BB-gun target practice a few weeks ago, call the cops — in addition to helping to get a puppy torturer/potential future serial killer off the streets, the reward for…

A Gilbert man was arrested yesterday on charges that he murdered his father by shooting him in the face with a shotgun.Tyler John McQuade, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of his father, Sean McQuade.According to court records obtained by New Times, Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies…

Yesterday, we told you about Andre, a miniature pinscher who had his eyes gouged out, likely by the same savage who used him as BB-gun target practice.In reporting the story, we were stunned to learn that no law enforcement agency was investigating Andre’s abuse. That, however, has changed — we’re…

If state Representative Steve Farley has his way, people who abuse animals in Arizona would be treated like sex offenders.Farley recently introduced House Bill 2310, which would force anyone convicted of abusing an animal to register with the state and have their name put on a list similar to a…

There’s a monster on the loose and he needs to be brought to justice.The pooch to the right is Andre, a miniature pinscher who had his eyes gouged out of his head, likely by the same savage who used the little guy for BB-gun target practice.We’re told Andre was found…

Glendale police announced this morning that investigators will start searching a landfill south of the Valley for the body of missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley on February 6.Shockley was reported missing in October. The case is now a homicide investigation, with her mother, Jerice Hunter, as the prime focus of the…

Christian Turcios, a 26-year-old former custodian at the Highlands Church in Scottsdale, was in Maricopa County Superior Court this morning where he pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of kiddie-porn-related crimes.Turcios, it turns out, basically beat the rap on a child molestation case in 2010 — then he allegedly got…

We don’t condone rape in any way, shape, or form. That said, if you’re enough of a scumbag to have sex with someone against their will, do yourself a favor and don’t give that person your phone number afterwards.Just ask 21-year-old Rafael Chavez, who, after raping a woman in Chandler…

A Phoenix man was “too tired” — and his wife’s blood-pressure was “too high” — to take an extremely ill 13-month-old baby to the hospital in November of 2010 — despite having been told by doctors the baby needed medical attention.The result: the baby died.Now, the baby’s mother, 21-year-old Kristen…

Say what you will about 47-year-old Moses Antonio Shepard, but at least he’s persistent — he was recently convicted of stalking a New York woman…for the last 18 years.Shepard was convicted last week of two counts of interstate stalking for stalking the same woman for nearly two decades, the U.S…

A Tempe man who left his 11-month-old son in a running bathtub last year was in Maricopa County Superior Court this morning where he was sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years probation.Jason Achondo, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse in November.Achondo and his baby-mama,…

Tyson Langley, the 15-year-old accused of gunning down two people at a Peoria smoke shop last week, is being held on $2 million bond after he was arrested in Los Angeles over the weekend and extradited back to the Valley.Langley, court records obtained by New Times show, was arrested on…

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced this morning that it will seek the death penalty for two people accused of murdering 10-year-old Ame Deal last summer by locking her in a tiny footlocker and leaving her there overnight. Sammantha Allen — Ame’s cousin — and her husband, John Allen, have…

More than a year after getting shot in the head during last year’s Tucson shooting rampage, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords this morning announced via-the Youtube video embedded above that she will step down from Congress.See New Times’ coverage of the Tucson shooting — and Giffords’ miraculous recovery — here…

Late last year, we published a story about a guy known as “Raven,” a mentally ill man who had been living for more than a year in a central Phoenix park. The piece described how several of Raven’s “neighbors,” folks who live in the area around the big park, had…

Phoenix police officials should have more closely examined allegations made by police Sergeant Phil Roberts about falsified border-related kidnapping statistics before deciding to investigate him for making those claims, according to a federal investigative report obtained by New Times. That message, found in a 33-page report by the U.S. Office…