A Kansas man who grabbed a woman’s breast on a Tucson-bound flight in 2012 had his criminal case dropped this month after completing pretrial diversion. Christopher Lewallen, now either 21 or 22, had been charged with abusive sexual contact under federal law in the July 17, 2012, incident on a…
I’m on deadline at the moment, but I would be remiss if I did not alert New Times’ readers to an e-book by Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s ex-Deputy Chief Brian Sands, titled Arpaio De Facto Lawman. Sands left the MCSO last year after 30 years with the agency, following on the…
In case you missed any news action this week, we’ve got you covered. Here’s our recap of the most-read news stories of the week:…
A federal appeals court last month ordered a temporarily end to Arizona’s rules that prevent participants in the Obama Administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program from receiving driver’s licenses, but that ban didn’t take effect. The state then asked that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals review its…
It’s not a good look for Ruben Gallego, a Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District rubbing elbows with a former Republican governor — and a disgraced one at that. Former Governor Fife Symington hosted a fundraiser on Thursday night for Gallego at a swanky Italian bistro in Scottsdale. On…
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, you’ll see a lot of…
In the this-is-what-politics-has-come-to category, an Arizona congressional candidate has received national attention thanks to a giant horse penis. Hundreds of thousands of Internet readers from coast to coast now know the name of Arizona hotelier and rancher Gary Kiehne, a GOP candidate for Congressional District 1 — but not due…
There’s a lot of discussion taking place about the militarization of police amid protests in Ferguson, Missouri, over the local police department’s controversial shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Peaceful protests have been met with police tear-gassing, aiming rifles at protesters, and arrests, according to reports. It’s gotten to the point…
Community activists are organizing a rally for tonight in Phoenix to protest police brutality in the wake of the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. Police in the Missouri suburb have been clashing with protesters outraged over the killing of the 18-year-old black man. People in cities across the…
They say you’re only as good as the company you keep. Action star Steven Seagal likes to keep company with some of the world’s so-called tough guys. His television show Steven Seagal: Lawman sprang from his friendships with two nationally famous sheriffs: Louisiana’s Harry Lee and our own blowhard, Sheriff…
Not everyone is convinced that drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, head of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, actually was arrested by authorities earlier this year. Documentary filmmaker Charlie Minn, who’s produced several movies about drug violence in Mexico, says he went to El Paso, Texas, after hearing of Guzmán’s arrest in…
I’m not Mexican, but my son-in-law is. He is intelligent, bright, enthusiastic, and pleasant to spend time with. He came here illegally at age 18 with his aunts. He and my daughter are married, have a 31/2-year-old son, and have gone through the entire process of filing papers and paying…
Leslie Lara figures Tio Sam Taxes, owned by local Republican bigwig wannabe Erik Ketelaar, owes her about $1,267, the combined amount of her federal tax refunds for 2012 and 2013. The company, which at one time had six locations in Phoenix and Mesa, heavily marketed its services to Hispanics, advertising…
Mary Rose Wilcox was shot in 1997 by a transient who didn’t like her politics. People say she was hit in a buttock, but she insists the wound was higher than that. Indeed, the gunman’s hollow-point bullet shattered her pelvis. It also shattered her desire to remain in public office…
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s release of more than 2,000 immigrant detainees in early 2013 wasn’t particularly extraordinary, according to an investigation into the matter. Senator John McCain has alleged that public safety was put at risk by the releases, and Governor Jan Brewer said she believed the releases were the…
The noose around Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s neck just tightened a little. On Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark Brain rejected Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne’s bid for a temporary restraining order against County Attorney Bill Montgomery, whose office is investigating, among other things, allegations that Horne has…
A Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office employee is accused of leaking sensitive law-enforcement documents to a person the agency describes as an “anti-government” author. The employee, Joseph Asarisi, shouldn’t have had access to such documents, because he’s not even a law-enforcement officer — he’s been doing laundry for the Sheriff’s Office…
State Superintendent of Public Education John Huppenthal has made mixed statements about his stance on Common Core. Today, the incumbent may have flip-flopped still again…
The top contenders in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, Democrats Mary Rose Wilcox and Ruben Gallego, have launched political attacks on each other since the race got under way. And the war of words has only ramped up as we move close to the August 26 election. Now, Randy Camacho, a…
Mary Rose Wilcox owes between $50,000 and $100,000 in 2012 taxes to the IRS. It’s a debt she listed on her 2014 financial-disclosure statement and one that is getting paid in installments. And now, it’s getting used as political ammunition against her. Ruben Gallego, who’s running against Wilcox for a…
A death-row inmate’s fight against the Arizona Department of Corrections reading his letters to his attorney lives on. A court had initially dismissed Scott Nordstrom’s lawsuit seeking to prevent the ADC from reading legal mail, but the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled this week to reverse the dismissal,…
I have a confession to make: I love “dark money.” When it’s used to blast someone I don’t like, that is. In the hands of Tyler Montague, president of the Arizona Public Integrity Alliance, dark money is truly a beautiful thing. Montague is one of the folks in Mesa instrumental…
