August 2011 Archives

When the El Paso County Sheriff's Office conducted a prostitution sting on Friday night, they probably weren't expecting to net a fellow officer. Their "decoy female prostitute" was too good for even a member of the Phoenix Police Department to catch on, however, and a Phoenix officer was arrested in its prostitution sting, The Arizona Republic reports.

Sheldon Czegledi, a 14-year veteran of the Phoenix force and a Central City Precinct patrol officer, allegedly solicited a prostitute, who turned out to be a female sheriff's deputy in disguise. The decoy was part of the department's crackdown on prostitution in El Paso.

Ironically, the Phoenix vice squad had just busted an alleged taxi prostitution ring earlier this month.

Phoenix police officer Jeffrey Gordon, son of Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon, received a police suspension for four days because he allegedly inappropriately touched a female city employee, reports the Associated Press.

Officer Jeffrey Gordon received the police suspension on Friday after he was found to have engaged in the unprofessional conduct of massaging and inappropriately touching the employee in December of last year. He had already been placed on administrative leave while the Phoenix Police Department’s Professional Standards Bureau investigated the allegation.

Rapper DMX may know how "rough riders roll," but it won't win him any points with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, especially since he's already on Sheriff Joe Arpaio's bad side.

DMX was arrested on Wednesday night for driving 102 mph in a 65 zone, which is considered criminal speeding, on a suspended license, reports the Associated Press. His arrest occurred just one month after he was released from an Arizona jail.

The rough-riding, multi-platinum rapper, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was pulled over on U.S. 60 by Arizona Department of Public Safety officers. He was placed into custody for criminal speeding, reckless driving, and driving with a suspended license. Simmons was released on bond Thursday morning.

Two cousins have been indicted on federal charges for starting the massive Arizona Wallow Fire, the largest wildfire in state history, reports The Arizona Republic.

Caleb Joshua Malboeuf and David Wayne Malboeuf are accused of building a campfire in the Apache National Forest near the Bear Wallow Trailhead and leaving it unattended. The abandoned campfire, which was located two miles from where the fire began, reportedly sparked the Wallow Fire inferno.

The May 29th fire ended up blazing a path of destruction through more than 538,000 acres in northeastern Arizona and New Mexico, according to authorities.

After an intense, yearlong investigation, the Phoenix vice squad busted an alleged taxi prostitution ring involving seven women and two men last Wednesday, reports The Arizona Republic.

According to authorities, the organizers of the taxi prostitution ring used a sophisticated system of cabs to ferry young women for "out-call and in-call prostitution services." The cab drivers would then collect the money and return it to a main location where the profits would be shared with the group.

Sixteen-year-old Braden Matthew Rockriver is currently being held on $1 million bond for the Mesa murder of his girlfriend's mother, reports the Associated Press. The teen, charged as an adult, is accused of committing first-degree murder and first-degree robbery, The Arizona Republic also reported.

First-degree murder is a class 1 felony under Arizona law and is punishable by death or life imprisonment. First-degree burglary committed in a residential structure is a class 2 felony.

When Benjamin Franklin compared life to "a kind of Chess, with struggle, competition, good and ill events," he probably didn't have a bloody double stabbing in mind as an example of an ill chess event.

Unfortunately, a checkmate turned into two mates getting checked by a sore loser after a competitive chess game at a Chuy's Restaurant ended with the two men getting stabbed, reports azfamily.com.

According to police, the normally civil game of strategy, pawns and kings began calmly enough at the northern Phoenix location of a Chuy's Restaurant. The situation started to get heated, however, when two of the three men involved placed wagers on the game.

Shooting suspect Juan Gabriel Ramirez is facing aggravated assault charges after he shot a family friend twice in the legs late Tuesday evening, reports azfamily.com.

The 29-year-old is already wanted for an outstanding felony warrant for a parole violation. The possible aggravated assault charges will add another violation to his already spotty record.

The crime of aggravated assault in Arizona is defined broadly, but often involves a person committing assault with the use of a deadly weapon or causes serious physical injury to another.

One of the werewolves from mega-hit Twilight has broken away from the pack in terms of breaking the law and is now licking his wounds in jail.

Twilight actor Kiowa Gordon, who plays Embry Call - a shape-shifting member of the Wolfpack, was taken into custody in Tempe after police discovered there were outstanding arrest warrants against him stemming from drug charges, reports Phoenix New Times.

From cyber bullies to online predators, the Internet has increasingly been maligned as a gateway to trouble for children’s safety. The Phoenix Police Department, however, has been using it as a tool to increase student safety through its innovative website Alert Recall, reports ABC 15 News.

The website, which allows students to confidentially report crimes through email or text, is the brain child of Phoenix Police Department School Resource Officer, Cecil Jackson. School Resource Officers are full-time police officers who are assigned to specific school campuses in order to investigate reports of child abuse and enforce truancy laws.

Daniel Schmidt may have thought he had gotten the best of the Casa Grande Fire Department, but the Facebook thief was foiled by his own stupidity after drunken photos he posted on the social networking site led to his own arrest for stealing the department's firefighter tools, reports azfamily.com.

The not-too-bright Schmidt was arrested on suspicion of third-degree burglary for stealing from a government agency after authorities, working on a tip, found pictures of the shirtless 23-year-old striking a pose with the stolen firefighter helmet on Facebook.

Former NBA journeyman Samaki Walker is facing drug possession charges after being arrested near Kingman, reports the Associated Press.

Walker was released from the Mohave County Jail after being booked for destruction of evidence, possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and prescription drugs.

According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, an officer pulled the 35-year-old over on Thursday for a routine traffic stop. The officer allegedly was able to detect the smell of marijuana wafting from his car, agency spokesman Captain Stephen Harrison said, which led to a search of Walker's vehicle.

Phoenix banks be warned: There's an armed robber on the loose in Phoenix. His getaway vehicle of choice? An approximately three-feet tall, aluminum and steel, hand-powered wheelchair.

Police are searching for the robber in a wheelchair who robbed the AmTrust Bank near Chandler Boulevard last Tuesday using the wheelchair as a disguise, reports Fox 10 News.

According to authorities, the suspect rolled up, literally, to the teller window and pulled a gun on the unsuspecting worker after other customers had left. She gave the armed robber cash and followed his demand to tape off the hands of the male employees, Phoenix Police Sergeant Tommy Thompson told Fox 10.

Phoenix police have arrested couple John and Samantha Allen on first degree murder charges after 10-year-old Ame Deal suffocated in a plastic footlocker, reports The Arizona Republic. According to authorities, she was allegedly placed there because she took a popsicle out of the freezer without permission, following a pattern of tortured abuse over the years.

Police are calling the case an unspeakable tragedy. "This child died at the hands of those who were supposed to love and care for her ... this case has turned the stomachs of some of our most seasoned detectives," Phoenix police spokesperson Sergeant Trent Crump said at a press briefing.