Arizona’s got a brand new pair of “bandits” that the FBI believes are linked to at least six bank robberies since October.The FBI is calling the bank-robbing duo the “High Country Bandits” because the majority of their robberies have occurred in places like Payson and Prescott…
The presiding judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court has assigned the criminal cases against Judge Gary Donahoe and County Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox to judges in other counties. Presiding Judge Barbara Mundell, (left) who is herself a target of the broad — and vague — racketeering…
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas this afternoon struggled to explain his decision to charge the county’s presiding criminal court judge, Gary Donahoe, with three felony counts –bribery, obstructing a criminal investigation, and hindering prosecution.But Thomas couldn’t offer any evidence to the assembled media scrum that Donahoe actually had accepted a…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced this morning that a criminal complaint has been filed against the Superior Court’s criminal division chief, Judge Gary Donahoe (at left). Michael Scerbo, spokesman for County Attorney Andrew Thomas, stated in a news release that Donahoe is being accused of hindering prosecution and…
There is an unwanted phenomenon happening in California, and Arizona is being pegged to clean up the mess: Chihuahuas — lots of them.California is seeing an influx of chihuahuas popping up at animal shelters, and it’s becoming too much for the state to handle.Rather than take these unwanted pooches out…
A judge has recused herself from the case that sparked a contempt-of-court order for a detention officer who removed papers from a defense attorney’s file. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Lisa Flores filed a minute entry this morning saying the court can’t rely on the Sheriff’s Office to get a…
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio vowed on Tuesday to get to the bottom of what they call a serious corruption problem among county leaders and judges. Their afternoon news conference followed the announcement earlier today that County Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox have been…
Maricopa County Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox (left) were served with indictments this morning that accuse them of committing a long list of crimes. Stapley’s been indicted on 27 felony and misdemeanor accounts. You’re familiar with these accusations by now: perjury, false swearing, theft. He’s been ordered to report for…
Judge Gary Donahoe, chief of the Maricopa County Superior Court’s criminal section, routinely lets criminals off without prison time, yet jailed a detention officer doing his job. That’s the gist of a December 4 news release by the Sheriff’s Office which cites six supposed examples of Donahoe’s lenient judging. The detention…
A Mesa man claims he has no idea what caused his on-again-off-again girlfriend to “turn purple” and die yesterday morning, but a member of his family told police he admitted killing her, according to court documents.Gilbert police received a call yesterday morning from a member of 21-year-old Dartanion Terrial Stroud’s family, saying…
In the spirit of giving this holiday season, the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety is conducting the Holiday DUI Task Force across the state, and this week’s big winner when it comes to “giving” DUI citations is the Phoenix Police Department.The Task Force will be in effect through New Years Eve…
Inmates aren’t getting transported to the courtroom of Maricopa County Superior Judge Lisa Flores because the Sheriff’s Office hasn’t replaced Adam Stoddard, the detention officer in jail on a contempt-of-court order. If you’ve been following this case, you’ll recall that Stoddard had been assigned to Flores’ court on the day that he…
The Peoria Police Department and Silent Witness are offering a $2,000 reward for information about a man who robbed prescription drugs from a Peoria CVS last week. The man, according to police, went into the drugstore at 8332 West Thunderbird Road, flashed a large kitchen knife to employees, and asked for…
Prescott police arrested a man that Department of Public Safety officers say was shining a laser pointer in the eyes of a pilot flying a helicopter that was perusing two robbery suspects. On Wednesday night, a DPS air rescue helicopter was called to assist officers trailing two armed robbery suspects,…
The top judge at the Maricopa County Superior Court took a strong stance against four judicial complaints filed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s chief deputy, calling them “false, frivolous and slanderous.” Here’s the entire statement released this morning by Presiding Judge Barbara Mundell (pictured at left): None of the judges have…
It’s been quite a year of ups and downs for Don Stapley, one of five members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. He started 2009 under the burden of 118 criminal counts. In September, the charges were dismissed because of a technicality that is now being appealed. Three days after the…
The ghoulish actors and actresses featured in state and county sponsored anti-meth campaigns apparently aren’t cutting it, so the Attorney General Terry Goddard’s office is now turning to children to get the job done.As part of the Arizona Meth Project’s “Not Even Once” campaign, the AG’s office is asking seventh…
Chandler police have arrested a man they believe is involved in a three-year-old murder case. Police arrested 22-year-old Rodrigo Romero yesterday for possible involvement in the 2006 murder of Lindsey Key. Key was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting near Arizona Avenue and Erie Street in Chandler on December…
A drug-addled transient who shot and killed two former buddies in their office back in 2004 will serve the rest of his life in prison. Howard Colin Fisk, 38, received two sentences of life in prison today, court officials said. The former Scottsdale resident pleaded guilty to the double murder last…
Patrick Chorpenning, the former director of the Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services, pleaded not guilty today to charges of fraud and misuse of public funds. The state Attorney General’s office is prosecuting Chorpenning after a two-year investigation turned up a mountain of evidence that he had abused his position. An…
The first reason why the racketeering lawsuit filed today against county leaders is probably going nowhere: It’s being handled by Lisa Aubuchon, the deputy county attorney who has consistently blown politically sensitive cases for Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Under Aubuchon’s leadership, Thomas lost the criminal cases against: Dan Pochoda,…
An indictment was unsealed today in Kansas City, Kansas, that named 20 people involved in a marijuana-distribution ring that has netted more than $22 million over several years, and like many pot-peddling rackets before it, this one originated in Phoenix. The indictment is the result of an 18-month investigation by the Drug Enforcement Agency, the…
