Phoenix News Blog

Adrian Cruz: Still on the run.

​Today, numerous local news outlets reported that convicted child rapist Adrian Cruz, who escaped from the less-than-competent MSCO at the Maricopa County Courthouse last year, had been arrested in Mexico. But before officials could even hold a press conference celebrating this supposed arrest, it turned out that officials in Mexico had arrested the wrong guy. They didn't have Cruz in custody, after all.

Whoops! 

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An hour of work this morning produced only scant information about the talks to move Sheriff Joe Arpaio's headquarters out of the Wells Fargo building in downtown Phoenix.

Cari Gerchick, spokeswoman for Maricopa County, tells us that Wells Fargo is not evicting the Sheriff's Office from the 18th and 19th floors of the building at 100 West Washington. Rather, it wants the floors for its own use and wants the county to know that it will waive any penalties or notice requirements if the sheriff's office leaves before the September 30, 2013 end-date of the contract.

Gerchick didn't know when Wells Fargo wished to see Arpaio leave. We couldn't reach Dennis Lindsey, the county's real estate manager, on the phone this morning. He was the one who received the recent letter from Wells Fargo (we're assured we'll have a copy for you to see later this morning).

Here's the interesting part: Gerchick says Lindsey can't be reached because he's working with Loretta Barkell, Arpaio's finance manager, to locate new office space for the sheriff's office.

www.photobucket.com

​A 3-year-old Pinal County boy is still in critical condition after shooting himself in the head with a gun he found in his grandmother's San Tan Valley home.

According to police, on Friday night, the boy's grandmother, who lives in a rural section of the county, grabbed the gun when her dogs started barking and she got scared. She put the gun underneath her couch to keep it close to her and forgot about it.

The next day, her grandson came to visit and guess what was still under the couch -- a loaded gun.

Image: Ray Stern

Demonstrators in front of the Wells Fargo building in downtown Phoenix

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Wells Fargo informed Maricopa County in a recent letter that the Sheriff's Office needs to vacate the office space it has inhabited in the bank's downtown Phoenix building since 1998.

One of our trusted sources read us the letter this evening -- we
don't have it yet, but we'll post it here as soon as we do. Here's what we can tell you in the meantime:

The letter to Dennis Lindsey, county real estate manager, from a Wells Fargo vice president, Leo Bauman, states that the bank needs the space for its own use, says our source. We're not sure of the timeline -- the letter refers vaguely to details already discussed -- but Bauman says the bank will waive the contract's penalty fee of 12 months' worth of rent for early termination. Ain't that sweet of them?

The five-year contract, which was renewed two years ago, should have run through September 30, 2013. But the bank's been the target of protests for more than a year: Anti-Arpaio demonstrators have been staking out the corner of 1st Avenue and Jefferson in earnest since September of 2008.

Looks like Wells Fargo finally caved. It seems like a significant blow to Arpaio, marketing-wise, and the sheriff's supporters aren't likely to be amused. Why does Wells Fargo need all that space, all of a sudden, anyway?

When we contacted the bank this evening, here's what we heard from spokeswoman Marjorie Rice:

 Phoenix fire Captain Willie Nelson, a dogged sleuth who knows how to tell arson from accidental, has been named the department's top investigator for 2009.

​Nelson (alas, no relation to the famous country crooner pictured in this long-ago photo) has been with Phoenix Fire since 1986 and a captain since 2004.

He also is a certified police officer, which enabled him to serve in New York City after the World Trade Center attacks and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

 

Captain Nelson was honored for his body of work. However, his supervisor, arson chief Jack Ballentine, listed three specific investigations in nominating him for the honor.

 

www.lyricsmusic.com

Country music star Jimmy Wayne

​On New Year's Day, country music hunk Jimmy Wayne set out on a cross-country charity walk to help raise awareness of homeless children. At the time, Wayne vowed to essentially live on the streets like a bum as he walked from Nashville to Phoenix. The cold weather and icy conditions, however, seem to have changed the country star's tune.

Before his journey, Wayne said in a statement, "It's going to be cold, rainy, and maybe even snowing, and that ground I sleep on at night is going to be really hard. But that's what the homeless are dealing with each and every winter they go without a home of their own."

As we pointed out in a previous post, you could throw a dog, a divorce, and some cheap beer into that scenario, and you got yourself the recipe for a hit country song. Wayne, however, opted to throw an RV into the mix, making his self-promoted, common street-kid image a bit lame.

According to reports in Nashville's Tennessean daily newspaper, Wayne is now sleeping in a donated RV rather than the hard ground he had mentioned before his walk.

"Spiritual warrior" James Arthur Ray

​Two of "spiritual warrior" James Arthur Ray's employees were granted immunity for their role in the October sweat-lodge ceremony that left three people dead and dozens injured.

Megan and Josh Fredrickson had worked for Ray's company, James Ray International, since 2005 and participated in the October ceremony as part of Ray's spiritual "dream team."

The Fredricksons were interviewed by authorities in Yavapai County back in January on the condition that nothing they said could be used against them in a criminal trial, court documents released Friday show.

According to the documents, the pair never thought they had any reason to be alarmed when people started passing out and throwing up in the sweat tent because Ray had told them that sort of response was to be expected.

www.abc15.com

Daniel Green, after he was detained and re-robed at Sky Harbor Airport.

​Travelers at Sky Harbor International Airport were treated to a strip tease on Friday afternoon, when a naked man went running through the airport before getting arrested by security.

Police say 27-year-old Daniel Green pulled up to Terminal 2 in his car at a "high rate of speed." Green then jumped out of the car without putting it in park, ripped his shirt off, and ran into the airport.

The car began to roll, but airport staff were able to jump in the driver's seat and stop it before any serious damage was done.

Green, after dashing topless into the airport, reportedly went to a ticket counter and starting raisin' hell.

www.facebook.com

Devin Fleenor, founder of the Facebook group People Against Sheriff Arpaio

​The founder of an anti-Joe Arpaio Facebook group that recently posted on its page a map to the sheriff's house, as well as a satellite image of his property, says he's not afraid of the big, bad sheriff.

Devin Fleenor, a graduate student at Arizona State University, says he's not worried about being hunted down by Arpaio for allowing the map to appear on the Facebook page because he feels he did nothing wrong.

"I don't think I did anything illegal. The good thing is that I took the map down," Fleenor says. "I don't think I should be afraid, should I?"

In any other county, we would say no. However, this isn't any other county and Joe's jails aren't gonna fill themselves.

Joe caught wind of the map and said he alerted his security detail about the group, so it's safe to say Fleenor and his group are at least on the sheriff's radar.



 

www.painlessstorm.com

​A 14-year-old Surprise girl was busted this morning trying to smuggle more than five pounds of weed across the U.S./Mexico border.

Border agents in Columbus, New Mexico, say that just before 7 a.m., the girl crossed the border as a pedestrian. While passing through the Columbus port, she was selected for a secondary search, and that's when border agents made a shocking discovery.

In the girl's backpack, agents found five rectangular packages. When they opened the packages, agents found weed -- lots of it.

In total, the girl was moving more than five pounds of weed, which is a shit-load of weed to fit in a backpack.

Image: www.patdollard.com

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Nothing makes us feel stupider than getting a city of Phoenix parking ticket.

For one thing, it's never a surprise. The only surprise comes when, after knowing full well that we blew through the metered time, we don't see one of those piss-yellow tickets on our windshield. Worse, we're ashamed to admit, more than once we've let the grace period for the lower price run out, turning a $16 ticket into $31.

But now it's time to turn over a new leaf: The city's raising the stakes -- big-time.

As of this month, the cost of a parking ticket in Phoenix has nearly doubled. A typical $31 ticket will now be $57. The $15 discount for paying early will go up to $20; early birds will pay $37 during the grace period instead of $16.

That's right -- the city's trying to balance its broken budget on the backs of us scofflaws. The nerve! And this is after nearly tripling the hourly cost of parking at one of those @$^!#$^ meters in the first place. (The city council raised the price from 60 cents an hour to
$1.50 an hour in December 2008).

Rufus Crump

​A Golden Valley man is behind bars for beating his girlfriend's 4-year-old son so badly with a leash that his school was compelled to call the police.

Rufus Crump, 40, of Golden Valley, was arrested on Wednesday on felony child abuse charges after investigators determined that bruises found on his girlfriend's son were the result of Crump's beating him with a leash.

Officials at the boy's school called police after finding bruises all over the boy's back and rear end.

Trish Carter, spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff's Office, says the boy told investigators Crump got angry with him and began to beat him with the leash at the child's home.




 

www.mredirect.com

​Members of the Navajo Nation, stranded in parts of northern Arizona and New Mexico because of poor road conditions, are having trouble preparing ready-to-eat meals that have been dropped from helicopters.

About 40,000 meals were dropped to the Native Americans, but members of the Nation -- particularly the elderly in rural areas -- are having trouble understanding the cooking instructions because they are written only in English.

Apparently, the meals aren't as "ready-to-eat" as advertised.

www.shavarross.com

Yes, this year's census form actually uses the term "Negro"

​The federal government is dropping some serious coin on a Super Bowl ad, and John McCain doesn't like it.

The ad, which stresses the importance of participating in the U.S. Census and encourages people to mail in their census form, is costing the U.S. Census Bureau about $2.5 million. McCain thinks that's a waste of money.

"While the census is very important to AZ, we shouldn't be wasting $2.5 million taxpayer dollars to compete with ads for Doritos!" McCain "tweeted" yesterday.

 

www.ilovefunnygames.com

​America's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" may want to get the goon squad ready for some late-night house calls, because someone out there in Facebook-land is dishing out directions to the sheriff's house.

As you may recall, New Times had (ahem) a little issue with the sheriff and his thugs over a similar situation, and we all know how that turned out. If ya don't, click here.

The latest treasure map to Joe's house is using much more advanced technology than merely printing an address in a weekly newspaper. It was posted on the wall of the new anti-Arpaio Facebook group, People Against Sheriff Arpaio. Check the site out here.

Last week, a member of the group posted a Google map and a Google Earth image of Arpaio's Fountain Hills home.

As far as we can tell, the group seems to be a peaceful forum for people to rally support to unseat Arpaio the old-fashioned way -- at the voting booth.

That peaceful mentality may be the reason the creator of the group, Devin Fleenor, removed the map from the group's page (that or the fear of being dragged out of his house in the middle of the night), but not before Arpaio caught a glimpse of it and charmed 3TV with some of his smug, um, humor.

The story was almost as infuriating as it was tragic:

 

​A veteran police officer makes a so-called "routine" stop of a vehicle on a Maricopa County road. The vehicle is occupied by two men.

The driver of the car has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and has served time in prison for committing violent acts.

The driver shoots the officer in cold blood and flees, only to be captured in due course.

It was the sickest case of deja vu all over again. And get this -- the two assassins (one only "alleged" at this point, though the evidence seems overwhelming), as it turns out, are apparently old friends from up in the old mining town of Globe.

First, there was Ernest Martinez -- and the August 15, 1995, murder of Arizona Department of Public Safety Officer Robert K. Martin, a 27-year veteran of the agency.

Late that morning, Officer Martin pulled over a speeding, swerving car heading south on the Beeline Highway toward Phoenix.

James Ray looking not so "spiritual" in his booking photo

​"Spiritual warrior" James Arthur Ray, who was indicted on three manslaughter charges yesterday, pleaded not guilty to each charge this morning in Yavapai County Superior Court.

Ray's attorney entered the not guilty plea on Ray's behalf and told the Associated Press the charges were "unjust" and he expected Ray to be exonerated.

Ray's bail has been set at $5 million -- a small price to pay for a guy who's made millions selling snake oil to anyone willing to drink the Kool-Aid -- but for now, Ray has opted to remain in the Camp Verde Detention Center.

Rabbi Albert Plotkin, known far and wide as one of the greatest (and most egalitarian) spiritual leaders to lead a congregation in these parts, died on Wednesday. He was 89.

​Plotkin was a remarkable man. 

He was in the forefront of the civil-rights movement of the 1960s, and worked until the end of his life (friends say he was "with it" until he died of a heart attack yesterday morning) at trying to bridge the ecumenical gap between his faith and all others.

Heck, for years the diminutive Jewish guy from South Bend, Indiana, was the Rabbi-in-Residence at All Saints Episcopal Church. The Lord does work in mysterious ways, huh?

www.boingboing.com

​If you're like us, you may have been later than usual for work this morning due to a colossal wreck on the westbound I-10.

At about 6:40 a.m. a tractor trailer, a motor home, and a passenger vehicle crossed paths near 32nd Street to create the perfect storm for Valley commuters.

According to DPS officials, the tractor trailer clipped the passenger vehicle causing it to spin out and hit the motor home. The motor home and the passenger vehicle both rolled over until the motor home came to a stop when it hit the center median, blocking the HOV lane.

Thankfully, nobody was seriously injured. However, thousands of motorists suffered through lengthy delays because it took nearly three hours to remove the wreckage.

A hyperactive kid with a few bags of Skittles could have probably moved the wreckage faster but apparently snapping a few photos for insurance purposes is more important than thousands of people getting to work on time.

"Spiritual Warrior" James Arthur Ray

​It seemed only a matter of time, but the leader of the "spiritual warrior" sweat lodge tragedy has finally been arrested on manslaughter charges.

According to the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, a warrant was delivered to the attorney of "spiritual warrior" James Arthur Ray, and Ray was arrested "a short time later."

Ray is the snake-oil salesman who organized a self-help retreat in Sedona that left three people dead and dozens injured.

Ray is charged with three counts of manslaughter -- one count for each of the three people who died during the retreat.

You're Mexican. You're been arrested and accused by Arizona authorities of being part of a crime ring that spawned a 102-felony-count indictment. You've got access to a fortune in Mexico. Pretty slim chances that you'll be freed from the Maricopa County Jail, right?

Not if you're Mario de la Fuente Manriquez or his son, Mario de la Fuente Manriquez Mix, who are pillars of their community in Nogales, Mexico, and is related to former Mexican president. Manriquez owns a newspaper and cable TV company. Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe today  ordered both men to be released on their own recognizance. Of course, there's a catch.

Police have seized and estimated $8 million to $12 million in assets from the pair -- money that's supposedly tied to the alleged crime ring's illicit deals. As we reported last month, cops accuse the pair and other suspects of bringing millions of dollars into the country from Mexico -- money that police believe was earned legitimately -- and using it to open and run nightclubs and high-end car dealerships.

Phoenix PD released this flow chart at a January 25th news conference

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As dozens of friend and supporters waited in the courtroom, lawyers struck a backroom bargain with Donahoe, convincing the veteran judge that their clients would show up to future court hearings. The deal: If either man fails to show up to a court hearing in the case without a legitimate excuse, Arizona can keep the money. Both are to surrender their Mexican passports and live in their Tucson homes.

They've been held since their arrests on $5 million bonds. But clearly, these aren't your usual suspects, and authorities haven't made a strong case against the pair -- publicly, anyway.

​A Scottsdale man accused of ripping off the Steve Miller Band for more than $90,000 is expected to cop a plea deal later this month after originally pleading not guilty to check fraud.

Robert Alfred Green, 48, entered the not-guilty plea in October to one count of felony check fraud after there wasn't enough money in his account to cover a check for $90,600 he had written to the band following a concert in Casper, Wyoming.

However, a change of plea hearing has been scheduled for February 23 in Natrona County District Court, which suggests that Green has made a deal with prosecutors.

Green originally claimed that he had struck a deal with the band's manager, who agreed to not cash the check until there was enough money in the account and got the go-ahead from Green.

The manager, according to Wyoming's Trib.com, denied those claims.

A U.S. District Court Judge has dealt Debra Milke (pictured in a 1991 photo) a big legal setback, ruling that the death-row inmate did validly waive her Miranda rights against self-incrimination before she allegedly confessed to having her son murdered in 1989.

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Judge Robert C. Broomfield's 21-page ruling comes two weeks after hearing from both Milke and former Phoenix homicide Detective Armando Saldate during an evidentiary hearing in his courtroom.

The hearing had been ordered by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after it ruled that it could find no evidence that Milke had waived her rights.

Broomfield's decision now returns to the appellate court for evaluation. The panel still may reverse him and rule that Detective Saldate illegally elicited Milke's incriminating statements, and order a new trial.

Then again, they may not.

But the judge's ruling left little to the imagination about his position.

www.facebook.com

Giant George taking a load off

​Some people like dogs, some people like horses, and some people opt for something in between, which seems to be the case for a Tucson man whose behemoth pooch is possibly the tallest dog in the world.

David and Christine Nasse are the proud owners of a 4-year-old great dane named George. The dog, it so happens, is a couple inches taller than Shaq, when standing on his hind-legs, and is under consideration by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest dog.

George weighs 245 pounds and stands an incredible 7 feet, 3 inches tall. According to Nasse, George eats more than 110 pounds of food each month and sleeps in his own queen- size bed.

The Nasses are rushing to file the paperwork to have George considered for the Guinness record because the former record holder, a great dane named Gibson, died in August after a battle with cancer.

Tammi Smith during an appearance on The Today Show

​Tempe police arrested the woman who had hoped to adopt Gabriel Johnson before the 8-month-old went missing more than six weeks ago.

Tammi Smith, 37, was labeled a person of interest by the Tempe Police Department in mid-January after police felt that she and her husband, Jack Smith, were less than forthcoming with information regarding the baby's disappearance.

Today, Tammi Smith was arrested on charges of conspiracy to commit custodial interference, custodial interference, and forgery.

Before Gabriel's disappearance, the Smith couple had hoped to adopt the baby, but Gabriel's father, Logan McQueary, didn't want to give up the child.

It was the baby's mother, Elizabeth Johnson, who arranged for the adoption with the Smith's without the consent of McQueary.

When filing paperwork for a possible adoption, Johnson listed a man named Craig Cherry as the father of the baby.

Cherry, however, is related to Tammi Smith and claims to have never met Johnson, making the chances slim of him being the boy's father -- which would put him in a position to give up the child.

Wikimedia Commons

Famous satirist Jonathan Swift proposed eating poor children. Apparently, that's funnier than joking that students are stupid.

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Sometimes, jokes go too far -- especially when they're sarcastic letters distributed by a school principal about the ineptitude of students that land in the hands of pissed-off parents.

Ron Sterr, principal of Litchfield Elementary School, was trying to be funny when he sent a parody "field-trip-permission" letter to teachers last week berating students who didn't finish their homework and making sarcastic comments about the drastic measures the school must take to deal with peanut allergies. But one of the teachers apparently mistook the letter for a serious missive and sent it to students' parents.

Which brings up the question: who's the stupid one(s) at Litchfield? 

Litchfield Elementary School District Superintendent Julianne Lein said the school district's been barraged with calls from angry parents. In a press release, Lein writes, "The Litchfield School District renders its most sincere apology to our students, parents, community and staff for this incident. We are taking specific steps to remedy this situation."

It is unclear who actually wrote the letter that Sterr sent, but he's the one placed on administrative leave.

So what's everybody so ticked off about? Check out the controversial letter, in its entirety, after the jump:

www.filehurricane.com

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As outlined in President Obama's State of the Union speech, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced today that his office is beginning a year-long study on how to best remove the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military.

John McCain, however, is against the idea altogether.

McCain, the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee, says he is "deeply disappointed" with the assessment and that it is biased because it suggests that the law should be changed.

In other words, if you're in the military and gay (not that there's anything wrong with that) McCain would prefer that you remain in the closet -- so you won't make any of your fellow soldiers blush.

Looks like his daughter isn't rubbing off on him as much as she thought.

Jay J. Armes

​A private investigator well-known for tracking down Marlon Brando's son in the 1970's has joined the search for the 8-month-old Tempe baby who went missing more than a month ago.

Jay J. Armes, who ironically has two metal arms after his were blown off in an explosion when he was 12 years old, is known simply as "the investigator." The dick typically charges up to a million dollars for his assistance but is offering his services to the family of missing Gabriel Johnson for free.

Armes says the inconsistencies in the story the told by the mother of the missing baby, Elizabeth Johnson, who also happens to be the last known person to see the child alive, is what prompted him to lend a hand (pun intended). 

"Because of the way it happened, and the way the girl started lying from the beginning," Armes tells the San Antonio, Texas ABC affiliate WOAI. "At first, she had given it to a couple, and then she didn't know who the couple were. The harder the cases are, the more challenging they are to me."

We have been a huge fan of Dr. Howard Zinn since the late 1960s, which dates us, but WTF.

 

​He was a staunch opponent of the Vietnam War (in fact, this World War II veteran who served as an Air Force bombadier was against just about all wars), and wrote and spoke about his points of view eloquently (sometimes loudly) and often.

Whether or not you agree with everything he writes, his mind-expanding 1980 book, A People's History of the United States, should be required reading for all high-school students and beyond.

We recall in the late 1990s, when the Matt Damon character in the movie Good Will Hunting implores the Robin Williams character to read the book. Turns out that Damon was a neigbor of Zinn's growing up in the Boston area.

www.fannation.com

Spike Lee pestering referees at a New York Knicks game

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Spike Lee, film director and prolific NBA pest, was in Flagstaff last week, where he spoke to students at Northern Arizona University about education and race.

Lee, who is responsible for "joints" like Get on the Bus, Do the Right Thing, and Bamboozled, told students that Latino and African-American students needed to "wake up" and break the stigma that getting an education often has in poor minority communities.

Sounds like the plot of every "hood" movie Spike's ever made.

Lee was the guest speaker for NAU's International Holocaust Remembrance Day hosted by the Martin-Springer Institute, where he spoke for 40 minutes about himself, the state of race relations in America, and offered advice.