At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the desert’s own Fourth Avenue Jail. To be considered for our Maricopa County mugshots of the week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest. This week, we introduce the 50 best…
The other day, my Italian boyfriend and I were sitting in a cafe in Santa Monica. He asked me an interesting question: “If you had the choice to be any nationality in the world, which one would you choose?” Being the proud Latina that I am, I said, “Mexican.” Then…
Gather ’round, kids, it’s time for the annual telling of our favorite Christmas tale — how Santa Claus nearly died in Arizona 82 years ago. In 1932, Santa jumped out of an airplane over Mesa, but his parachute didn’t deploy, and scores of people watched Santa fall helplessly to the…
Brian Sands, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s book-writing retired executive chief, predicts his ex-boss won’t be reelected in 2016. “I think he’s done,” says Sands, who retired last year as one of Arpaio’s closest aides after a 30-year career at the agency. The voting public no longer trusts him and…
An independent report on the two-hour execution of Joseph Wood earlier this year gives a positive review of how the Arizona Department of Corrections carried out the execution. This report was commissioned by the state after the extraordinarily long execution, which went on for so long that Wood’s federal public…
Former Phoenix Police Chief Danny Garcia fought the law, and the law won. And too often, the law in this town is spelled P-L-E-A, the acronym for the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the union that “represents” around 2,600 rank-and-file Phoenix cops. I write “represents” in quotation marks because, though PLEA…
Glendale police are investigating a claim that the brother of Rumain Brisbon threatened to kill the officer involved in the controversial shooting. Rickey Brisbon, Rumain’s older brother, was arrested on Friday on unrelated charges, but Glendale Police Sergeant David Vidaure tells New Times that Brisbon is still the subject of…
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery announced today that animal cruelty charges will be dropped against the four suspects in the Green Acre dog-death case. One count of fraud remains against Jesse and Maleisa Hughes, owners of the Gilbert boarding facility where at least 23 dogs died overnight in June, Montgomery’s…
Interim Phoenix Police Chief Joe Yahner says he expects to make changes to the organization of the department, in the wake of the firing of former Chief Daniel Garcia. Garcia was fired last week after a lengthy battle with the police unions, although was officially terminated for disobeying orders from…
Yesterday was the first day of Winter, which means there are some realities about Winter in Phoenix that you’ll have to accept. Here are 10 realizations you’ll have during a Winter in Phoenix:…
A key piece of evidence is missing in the investigation into how a Phoenix firefighter and his son’s teenage friend fell to their deaths in August at Camelback Mountain. Gary Johnstone, a technical rescue team member and veteran firefighter for 15 years with the department, was pronounced dead at the…
Phoenix Police Chief Daniel Garcia held a press conference yesterday, in part to demand a two-year contract from the city. He was fired for holding that press conference. “The chief disobeyed a direct order when he held his news conference today,” City Manager Zuercher said in a statement released shortly…
The older I get, the more I appreciate that line by Elvis Costello: “Oh, I used to be disgusted/ Now I try to be amused…” But you’ll forgive me if Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s latest stunt nevertheless leaves me nauseated. According to an MCSO press release, he will be hosting five…
At the end of the week, we bring you a roundup of visitors to the desert’s own Fourth Avenue Jail. To be considered for our Maricopa County mugshots of the week, get arrested, strike a pose, and we’ll take care of the rest. This week, we read the inmates’ faces…
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is shutting down his Criminal Employment Unit, which notoriously raided businesses around the county to arrest undocumented immigrant employees. Immigrant-rights groups sued Arpaio over the raids earlier this year, and as part of that lawsuit, Arpaio submitted a notice yesterday stating that the unit is…
Where does 25 equal 30, and 22.7 percent equal “most?” The Arizona Republic’s “Fact Check: Keeping Arizona Honest” column, of course. In Sunday’s paper, as a reader informed us this week, a fact-check completely flubs the evaluation of Mark Brnovich’s comment on TV last month about the state’s medical-marijuana patients…
An allegedly suicidal 18-year-old Army soldier was shot and killed by a police officer Tuesday afternoon. Police say William R. Osterlind had developed a relationship with a 14-year-old girl, and was approaching her house when a Phoenix police officer fired one shot from an AR-15 rifle that hit Osterlind in…
Behold my annual Mexican Christmas guide, where I recommend the best Mexi-themed libros for you to give to your loved ones this Navidad instead of yet another tamale to unwrap. Buy them at your local bookstore, or order online, but do buy! Lowriting: Shots, Rides & Stories from the Chicano…
Righteous rage fills the air as a young African-American demonstrator yells through his bullhorn. “We are fed up!” cries Jarvis Johnson, his face filled with emotion. “We are done! We want justice, and we want it now!” Johnson’s walking back and forth in the middle of the intersection of Seventh…
Republican Martha McSally has officially upset Democratic Congressman Ron Barber. The results of the recount were released this morning, and McSally won the district by 167 votes. The recount actually extended the lead for McSally, whose 161-vote lead over Barber was close enough to trigger the recount…
Governor Jan Brewer’s executive order that prevents certain immigrants from getting driver’s licenses will be blocked by a court order. A federal appellate court decision earlier this year called for a temporary end to Brewer’s order, and the U.S. Supreme Court today denied the Brewer administration’s request to keep the…
The Phoenix police union says Rumain Brisbon, the unarmed Phoenix resident who was fatally shot by a Phoenix police officer earlier this month, had the choice to live. The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association issued a lengthy press release rationalizing the shooting, which it normally doesn’t do. “Mr. Brisbon had the…
