February 2012 Archives

A 16-year-old Nogales High School student was arrested for carrying nearly four pounds of heroin in his backpack. Authorities received an anonymous tip, and high school administrators discovered the drugs, making the high school drug bust.

The street value of the drugs is about $80,000 and the unidentified Rio Rico boy has been taken into custody and transported to a county juvenile detention center, reports The Associated Press.

Despite two appeals in the last five days for a stay, the Robert Moormann execution is set for Wednesday. In a last minute appeal, Moormann's legal team asked for a stay on the execution as they say protocol was not followed when the state announced a switch from a three-drug cocktail for the execution to a single drug.

Usually seven-day notice is necessary for a change in the way the execution is carried out under Arizona rules, but only on Monday did corrections officials discover they were short on one of the drugs necessary for the three-drug cocktail. At the last minute, authorities decided to switch over to a single drug, reports The Associated Press.

In the wake of sexual abuse scandals involving people with power over minors, parents and schools should be especially vigilant of potential abuse. In Tempe, Arizona police arrested an assistant band instructor at Tempe High School over alleged sexual conduct with a 16-year-old student.

Andrew Islas, the 23-year-old instructor, is accused of carrying on a sexual relationship with the teen student over the course of several months, reports azfamily.com. The incidents occurred at Islas' Chandler home and police are looking into other possible locations including the school.

Late last year, three men got out of a black Honda and approached a man sitting inside his vehicle with his girlfriend. For unknown reasons, the men beat up the victim with fists and an aluminum baseball bat.

Witnesses to the crime tried to stop the Glendale baseball bat beating, but one of the attackers pointed a gun at them and forced them to stay out, reports The Arizona Republic. After the beating, the three men got into their car and drove off. Last week, two Glendale men were finally arrested for the attack. Police are still looking for the third suspect.

A Phoenix woman is accused of both murdering her mother in cold blood and robbing her, reports

Kiarra Turner, who is currently in jail awaiting trial for burglary charges filed in September, was also charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday.

Authorities claim the 28-year-old killed her mother, 48-year-old Jewel Loring, with a blow to the head, according to Phoenix Police Department spokesman, Sgt. Trent Crump. Police also say Loring had four different types of sleeping pills in her system.

A former anchor of Tucson news station KVOA-TV faces one count of shoplifting after authorities accused her of stealing a jacket and earrings from Dillard’s over the weekend, reports the Arizona Daily Star.

Martha Vazquez, an almost-30-year veteran anchor at the station, was allegedly caught stealing a $338 jacket from the Tucson Mall store by a loss prevention officer. The officer also reportedly found a $30 pair of earrings in the jacket as well.

A couple have been arrested in connection with a burned body found dumped in the desert in West Valley, reports azfamily.com.

The husband-and-wife duo, Daniel Griffith and Jennifer Griffith, are accused of killing the unknown victim, burning the body and dumping it in the desert near the White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Police claim the homicide was not a random crime, but would not say what the suspects’ relationship was with the victim.

An Arizona man reportedly drove more than 500 miles to Los Angeles and nakedly climbed to the top of a 228-foot communications tower used by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to The Arizona Republic.

The man allegedly told LAPD that he began his ascent at 4 p.m. Wednesday and ended up at the top naked. Police were able to get him down by 10 p.m. and took him to the hospital for treatment.

Authorities did not say why the man drove from the Grand Canyon State to the Golden state to climb a police tower or why he was compelled to strip along the way.

Luckily for the man, however, LAPD did not press criminal charges against him for his dangerous stunt, according to The Republic.

Five people have been arrested in connection with the gruesome murder of a Paradise Valley couple, reports The Arizona Republic.

Michael Lee Crane faces a multitude of charges, including first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, arson, and burglary. His alleged accomplices - Brittnay Beinhauer, Kelly Steward, Shawn Nicloy, and Danielle Rossman - face theft or trafficking in stolen property charges.

With previous surveys ranking some Arizona cities the drunkest in the nation, you would think there would be city and local laws against public drunkenness. To the surprise of many Arizona residents and even some municipalities, you'd be wrong.

Case in point: A Scottsdale ordinance allowing police to arrest rowdy drunk people in public was thrown out because of a 1974 state law barring Arizona cities and towns from enforcing their own drunken-behavior laws, reports The Arizona Republic.

Pinal County Animal Care & Control removed nearly 100 dogs and exotic birds from a home in Maricopa on Tuesday in a case of "extreme animal hoarding," reports azfamily.com.

Two people apparently lived in the contaminated home, which was reportedly covered in garbage and several inches of fecal manner, according to Animal Control.

"We worked this incident in fear for our own health," Kaye Dickson told azfamily.com. "I cannot fathom how the two adult residents were able to live there."

The police are officially calling the deaths of two people found in a burning Paradise Valley home a possible homicide and arson case, reports The Arizona Republic.

Although they have not officially confirmed the identities of the bodies, many believe the victims to be Lawrence and Glenna Shapiro. Family members reportedly released a statement saying they were “shocked and saddened at the loss of our parents who were so loved by their family and community,” according to The Republic.