Phoenix News Blog

​The Chandler Police Department is looking for a guy who sped off after hitting a man with his car early this morning -- an alarming trend here in the Valley of the Sun.

"The First-Aid Bandit"

​There's a new bandit in town, and authorities have given him what is possibly the least-cool moniker since the infamous "Salon Bandit."

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for the man it is calling "The First-Aid Bandit."

Don't let the name fool you, this guy isn't running around slapping Band-Aids on the bleeding masses, he's robbing banks -- four of them to be precise.

www.psychologytoday.com

​Peoria police are looking for the person or persons responsible for robbing the home of a Peoria family. On the list of missing items: The ashes of the family's dead son.

Lindsay Grannis, the child's mother, says when she came home yesterday afternoon, her garage door was wide open. When she went into her house, the place was cleaned out.

The thief took your standard items -- televisions, jewelry, electronics -- but also took a small music box from a cabinet inside the home.

Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

​Back in 1987, cops say, Roger Cook blasted a guy with his .357 Magnum for doing little more than jumping over a fence.

The single bullet killed 22-year-old Terrance Keenan. The young man's friend, Richard Fair, dodged more shots fired his way by Cook, who was reportedly known in his apartment complex at 617 North Third Avenue as a paranoid, confrontational geezer. Both the younger men were unarmed, authorities say.

A judge ordered Cook released from jail three days later on his own recognizance. Then Cook disappeared.

But now, 22 years later, Cook is back in Maricopa County and awaiting trial on a charge of manslaughter. He turns 89 next month.

 

Image: www.rdmausa.com

Jonathan Antonucci

​Jonathan Antonucci, (at right), one of three suspects in a deadly fire at the Young Champions of America building in Phoenix, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson.

Like Moniza Murillo, who took a plea in the case a few weeks ago, Antonucci got a break from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. The initial charges for both suspects included first-degree murder. The third suspect, Jeffrey Otto, still faces that higher charge.

Antonucci and Murillo, both former karate instructors for Young Champions, helped another instructor to burn down the building to destroy evidence of embezzlement. That instructor, Joshua Robinson, 28, died in the blaze.

Image: Murillo's MySpace page

Moniza Murillo

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Image: Murillo's MySpace page

​One of three suspects in a deadly arson fire that destroyed the headquarters of a youth activity firm has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and arson of an occupied structure.

Moniza Murillo, 20, (pictured right), had been facing first-degree murder charges along with two other suspects for the June 14 blaze that killed one of the arsonists. The fire burned the headquarters of Young Champions of America to the ground, and almost put the 57-year-old company's Arizona branch out of business.

Police believe Murillo and two of the suspects -- all of whom worked for Young Champions as karate instructors for kids' classes -- were trying to hide evidence of embezzlement. When 28-year-old Josh Robinson lighted the gasoline he'd poured in the building's second floor, the flash explosion consumed him in flames, killing him.  

Colleen Clark, the boozing president of the Maricopa Community College Governing Board, will serve 30 days in jail for her "super-extreme" DUI conviction.

The Arizona Republic reported Clark's sentence a few minutes ago, but we were disappointed to see which photograph the newspaper chose to accompany the article. Instead of the mug shot of Clark, which the paper would use in 99.9 percent (our guess-timate) of other DUI articles, they ran her Governing Board glamor shot.

We prefer the shot below, taken after her arrest, to help illustrate our own story about Clark. After all, if you'll recall from our previous story about this partying right-winger, Clark was positively blitzed on July 11 while driving in downtown Scottsdale: She was driving poorly. She seems to have lied to the arresting officer about how much wine she'd quaffed. Her pants were unzipped and open. Most embarrassingly, the high-profile college official couldn't even remember her ABCs during a field test.

She pleaded guilty on Monday in Scottsdale City Court.

 

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Image: www.made-in-china.com

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A short series earlier this week in the Arizona Republic about the murder of a police informant contained an exquisitely horrifying detail mentioned prominently in all three stories: a brutal new use for adult diapers.

As one of the accused killers, Edgar Javier Enriquez, explained in court records dug up by Republic reporter Dennis Wagner, 

At a Target store, they bought batting gloves to protect their hands while throwing punches and adult diapers because that's what cartel henchmen in Mexico use to prevent messy torture sessions.

Said Edgar: "They don't want to deal with someone that's scared or crying and pooping on himself, you know."

Image: Wisconsin Department of Corrections

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A convicted killer serving a life sentence in Wisconsin for a 1978 double-murder has been charged in the 1973 murder of 22-year-old Leesa Jo Shaner.

According to an article last year in the Wisconsin's Journal-Sentinel, Shaner was on her way to pick up her husband at the Tucson Airport when she was kidnapped. Her two kids were at home with her father; they were planning a welcome-home party for Shaner's husband, Gary, who was returning home from a military trip to Okinawa, Japan.

Her naked body was found four months later in the desert at Fort Huachuca by two soldiers.

Shaner's father, James A. Miller, was an FBI agent who made finding his daughter's killer his life's work, says the Journal-Sentinel. A retired FBI agent maintained a Web site about Leesa Jo after Miller died in 2007.

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Angela Simpson, the Phoenix woman accused of torturing a disabled man over three days before killing and dismembering him, was indicted on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping, the Maricopa County Attorney Office's announced today.

This is one of those cases that make you wonder about the planet you're living on. The suspect pulled out victim Terry Neely's teeth and drove a nail into his head, for gawd's sake. Cops say Simpson stabbed, strangled and beat the victim -- then confessed her crime to investigators with a nonchalant attitude, like it was no big deal.

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Robbing a Circle K -- how unoriginal. The alleged bandit in this photo waltzed into the store at 1262 West Chandler Boulevard, waving his gun around and demanding cash, Chandler cops say.

 

Image: Tempe police

Akram Abdul-Hakeem

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A Phoenix man has been arrested in connection with the sexual assault of a woman last Friday at Mill Avenue and 4th Street in Tempe. The man, Akram Abdul-Hameed, is on trial currently for criminal damage, trespassing and assault in a separate Tempe incident that occurred in June.

The 26-year-old suspect had seen the victim on Mill Avenue in the past before attacking her just after midnight on Friday, cops say. The woman -- not an ASU student, in case you were wondering -- was ambushed by Abdul-Hameed, who put his hand over her mouth, pulled her up to a secluded, second-story balcony and sexually assaulted her. A few minutes later, she was able to free herself enough to be able to yell for help. The cowardly attacker fled as two people nearby heard the woman's cries.

Police soon identified the suspect and arrested him at his home near 15th Avenue and Indian School.

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The crime is sophisticated and devious: You're tricked into swiping your card in a thieving cardreader planted over the real one. Meanwhile, the would-be Lex Luthors are watching you punch in your PIN with binoculars or cameras.

Phoenix cops say the movie-like scenario actually happens -- they call it "skimming" -- and they've released photos today of a suspect who withdrew "large amounts" of cash from ATMs while the victims still had their cards in their wallets. One victim had the good fortune to have checked his balance online and alert authorities before his account was drained.

Police say the thefts occurred between June 17 and July 29, at ATMS located at 7th Street and Union Hills and 34th Street and Bell Road.

 

Image: Marin's Facebook page

​The owner of a $3.5 million mansion in the Biltmore Estates was arrested today by Phoenix police in connection with an arson fire that burned the place to the ground.

Michael Marin told Channel 15 (KNXV-TV) today that he was "utterly shocked" at the accusation and has a "conscience as clear as the driven snow."

Marin was the only person home the morning of July 5, when the blaze began in the 7,500-square-foot home. He reportedly got out of the burning house from a second-story balcony, wearing scuba gear and descending on a rope ladder. Good thing he had that stuff handy, right?

 

 

Chandler police believe this is the man who has stolen more than $10,000 worth of makeup from local cosmetics stores.

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Chandler is facing a few problems right now. First: Someone is going around stealing makeup from local cosmetics stores. Second: Police suspect it's a middle-aged man.

Chandler police are asking for the public's help in tracking down a man suspected of shoplifting more than $10,000 worth of cosmetics over the last two years. Police call him the "The Blue Basket Bandit."

Police say that in the areas south of Baseline Road, east of 32nd Street, north of Queen Creek Road and west of Country Club Road, the same man, described as a white male between 5'4" and 5'10", with a medium build and brown hair, has changed his appearance, and used different getaway cars as to not raise suspicion among store employees

To Live and Die in L.A. Phoenix.

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Thankfully, this big-money bust didn't involve a nail-biting, wrong-way drive on the freeway that made for such a great action scene in the above-linked movie. Nope, just some good detective work by local cops who followed up on a tip a couple of weeks ago.

www.simonandschuster.net

​A Phoenix man who police say cried wolf way too many times is behind bars, and potentially facing more than 100 felony charges. 

Arrested yesterday by Phoenix police, the guy's suspected of making at least 152 prank calls to police dispatchers since May, 2008.

Police described the apparently very bored gent as being in his early 50s, but did not immediately release his name pending working out all the charges.

​When an employee at a drive-through fast-food restaurant forgets to include the appropriate condiments in your go bag, you're irked. If you're a jerk, you ask to speak to the manager.

But you'd have to have a screw loose to try to hit an employee with your car, which is what police say happened last night in Surprise.

Monique Aguet, 26, zipped through the drive-through at a Kentucky Fried Chicken near Bell and Reems roads about 7 p.m., Surprise police say. When she dipped her hand in her bag of food and found there were no condiments, Aguet allegedly went off the deep end.

 

​Got sand?

Sure, but what good does it do when someone steals your $85,000 dune buggy?

Chandler police report today that on July 11, thieves broke into the yard at Automotive Diagnostic Specialties, 6835 West Chandler Boulevard, then loaded up a flashy Black Widow sand rail (the one in the pictures) onto a trailer and drove away in a silver, four-door Dodge pickup truck.

 

A 17-year-old kid got separated from his buddies on Saturday after a day at the Salt River and accepted a ride home from four dudes. Bad move.

The guys drove the teen to an apartment complex at 1803 North Country Club Drive and ordered him to get out of the car, described only as a "silver four-door." The quartet of thugs pummeled him and stole his necklace and gold pendant, Mesa police say.

The four suspects may be about the same age or slightly older than their victim. One had a mohawk and the words "Fear No Man" tattooed prominently on his chest. He shouldn't be so hard to find.

The suspect descriptions from Mesa police follow:

Four boys ages 9, 10, 13 and 14 lured an 8-year-old neighbor into a shed at a Phoenix apartment complex, then sexually assaulted her, police say.

The crime happened last Thursday evening, and police were called to the scene after reports of a young girl running out of the shed, half-nude and screaming. Numerous witnesses helped police identify the boy suspects.

All the children involved are refugees from the West African nation of Liberia who live in the complex near Thomas Road and 43rd Avenue. The 14-year-old, Steven Tuopeh (pictured above in police mug shot) is being charged as an adult.

The shocking story gets even worse, a police news release relates:

The victim had to be removed from her home by Child Protective Services because her culturally backward parents blame her and feel like she's brought shame on the family.

UPDATE: 7-24-09 -- Read our latest coverage, including our interview with the Liberian ambassador to the United States.

The full text of the July 22 Phoenix PD news release follows:

 

Image: www.wavy.com

We just found a reason to support Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio's proposal to regulate door-to-door salespeople:

Jesse Lee Wise.

As we reported Friday, Wise was arrested last week in Chesapeake, Virginia, and accused by police of taking a bus from the Valley to meet a 13-year-old chat-room buddy for sex. The girl was actually an undercover officer.

Last night, a Virginia TV news station interviewed Wise, who told it he had been working in the Phoenix area as -- get this -- a door-to-door magazine salesman.

As our July 17 report mentioned, Wise recently spent a few years in the slammer for burglary, forgery, and trespassing. Hardly someone for whom you'd want to open the door, much less hand a personal check for a lousy subscription to Newsweek.

 

Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Raymond Steele, Levi Blanton and Russell Westergard

Are the Juggalos a "criminal street gang" or not?

We say no. Mesa police -- in this case, anyway -- say yes.

Cops busted a trio of woop-woopers on Wednesday in connection with four break-ins at a deaf school. According to the East Valley Tribune today, the three men vandalized computer monitors, threw paint around and stole projectors.

 

 

An agent with the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a Customs officer were arrested this morning after being indicted on suspicion of stealing government money.
Agent Michael J. Kittson, 34, and U.S. Customs Patrol Officer Douglas R. Bothof are named in a 47-count indictment that accuses them of buying more than $55,000 worth of personal goods with Border Patrol credit cards.
The agent and officer conspired with a former Customs officer and two employees of a Tucson-area auto shop to pimp out their rides, says a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona (scroll down for full text of release).
The men lived large with your tax money in numerous ways, the government alleges, buying expensive sunglasses, mini-bikes for their kids, "thousands of dollars in gift cards" and other stuff.
Maybe this isn't such a big deal, though -- just an unauthorized, miniature version of a federal economic stimulus program.

 

Image: Arizona Department of Corrections

An ex-con from Glendale took a bus to Chesapeake, Virginia this week to meet (and hopefully have sex with) a 13-year-old girl he met online, police say.

The two had been communicating via the Internet since May, but the girl was really a Virginia state cop, according to media reports.

After arriving at his destination, Jesse Lee Wise, 25, camped out behind a public library. He was arrested while using one of the library's computers -- just as he was chatting with the undercover officer.

 

Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Police arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with a fatal DUI collision early Saturday morning.

Andre Jeremy Wilkinson was driving his 2008 Nissan Titan pickup at about 4 a.m. when he slammed into the back of a 1995 Buick that was stopped at a red light at the corner of Cactus Road and 51st Avenue, court records state. Evidence and witnesses suggest Wilkinson was speeding and never hit the brakes before the collision, says the police probable-cause statement.

The Buick's driver -- not named in the records -- died after the impact, which crushed the car's rear end. Wilkinson's passenger had minor injuries.

An undocumented, armed Phoenix resident left his gun where kids could find it, and now an 8-year-old boy is fighting for his life after getting shot in the face, police say.

Police make Javier Gudino Cruz, 24, the boy's uncle, look like anything but a law-abiding, responsible, possessor of a firearm. Cruz can't legally own a firearm in Arizona because of his immigration status. Not only does he own a handgun, says a Phoenix PD news release, but he shot up his yard with it early Sunday morning after a night of drinking and fighting. Then Cruz left the gun on a wall in front of his house at 919 East Turney.

Just before 2 p.m. yesterday, a group of children ages 4 to 6 found the gun and shot the boy. No doubt, the little boys thought they were playing a game -- until the BOOM! and spray of blood and flesh.

 

Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Ignacio Lopez-Leon has been arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder. Records show he was booked into the Maricopa County jail yesterday. 

The county attorney's office does not yet have information to provide about the case. We'll update this post later.

This just in from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix:

Brian Roehrich, the 40-year-old former owner of Sugar Daddy's, Dos Gringos, Trailer Park, and Joe's Apartment bars, has been sentenced to two years for tax evasion.

He's supposed to turn himself in by September 9.

Roehrich had a system at his Scottsdale and Tempe establishments in which he set aside the money from cover charges. The skimmed cash didn't show up in his tax returns over several years, the feds say. And it amounted to big bucks: Nearly $2 million.

Roehrich's getting off easy, in a sense -- he was facing up to 20 years.

Image: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office

Juan Aurelio Sanchez

The 911 hang-up call from Glendale came in just after four in the morning on Monday. Someone answered the phone each of the three times police operators called back.

The first time: No response, noise in background.
Second time: Woman screaming in background.
Third time: A man answers, tells police there's "no problem," and hangs up.

Right about then, court documents show, Juan Aurelio Sanchez called family members from the blood-soaked apartment of his girlfriend, where the 911 had come from.

Sanchez "told them he had fucked up and needed them to come look after his son," records state. The family members got there before police and found Sanchez lying next to his girlfriend, who was dead -- her throat slashed.