If you happen to run into the parents of accused murderer Paul Giovante Jones, do him a favor and let them know he’s a killer and he’s “proud of it.”That’s the message Jones, 26, asked Scottsdale police to relay to his parents after he fatally shot his boyfriend, Colton Scharge,…
There’s good news and bad news for 60-year-old Shaun Deter, who lost his keys after his vehicle malfunctioned while he was allegedly “super” extremely drunk and driving last night.The good news: his keys have been found (they were on his dashboard).The bad news: they were found by a firefighter who…
An officer-involved shooting in Chandler earlier this week has been ruled a suicide — turns out the victim shot himself in the head before getting shot by police.According to the Chandler Police Department, about 6:45 p.m. Monday, 39-year-old Adam Buckner pointed a gun at one of his neighbors in the…
“Baseline Killer” Mark Goudeau learned his fate this afternoon when a jury sentenced him to death for a murderous crime spree that terrorized Valley residents for nearly a year.Goudeau was convicted of nine counts of murder last month following a five-month trial. Today, a jury sentenced him to death on…
A Valley attorney — best known for representing an escort who accused baseball villain Albert Belle of stalking her in 2006 — has been recruited to represent Jerice Hunter, the mother of missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley.Attorney Scott Maasen has agreed to represent Hunter, his office confirms to New Times. However,…
If your public relations firm happens to represent an organization that advocates for people with disabilities, it’s probably in your best interest to not make fun of people with disabilities. Just ask Valley PR honcho Jason Rose, who took to Twitter over the weekend to compare a “knucklehead” he saw at…
The Arizona Supreme Court today will consider whether to issue an execution warrant for a man convicted of murdering his adoptive mother back in 1984. After murdering her, he chopped her body up into several pieces, and scattered them in dumpsters near the Florence Prison — where he was an…
Jerice Hunter, the mother of missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley — who is suspected in the girl’s disappearance — has been released from jail.Hunter, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office says, was released about 10:40 a.m today.Jerry Cobb, spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, tells New Times Hunter was released because…
A Tempe man and his baby-mama have each pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse after leaving their 11-month-old baby in a running bathtub earlier this year.Initially, Summer Dawn Angelly, 23, and Jasen Anchondo, 28, pleaded not guilty to the same charge. The couple was arrested in August after…
Shawn Nau, Maricopa County’s general government director, was responsible for leaking records about former deputy Joel Fox to the press in apparent defiance of a court order.Though county spokeswoman Cari Gerchick told us last week that the leaker had received a written reprimand for his actions, it turns out that…
Just after midnight today, Armando Salazar heard someone knocking loudly on the front door of his west Phoenix home. He opened the door, but left closed the outer security door.Several bullets suddenly penetrated the security door and struck Salazar. His wife, also in the home at the time, was uninjured.Salazar,…
One major difference between the old and new lawsuits against Maricopa County by a retired judge and current County Supervisor is this name:Peter Spaw.Spaw, a deputy prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office since 2000, was a key figure in the 2009 federal racketeering complaint against county officials that got…
Israeli citizen and former high-living real estate investor Eitan Maximov was found guilty in a jury trial yesterday for his role in a “cash-back” mortgage-fraud scheme.He stands to get between 14 and 17.5 years in prison at his sentencing hearing, scheduled for February 27 before U.S. District Judge David G…
If Jose Arnulfo Leyva had a hammer, he’d hammer in the evening — on your car, or possibly you. So say police, anyway.Cops say Leyva, 28, did have a hammer last night just after 10 p.m. when he stalked a Mesa street, “stepping out in front of cars” as he…
A Valley bail-bond company says it has denied an offer to write a bond for Jerice Hunter because her daughter is still missing and the bond amount is too low. The operators of Regulator Bail Bonds, Inc., tweeted and Facebooked their displeasure last night, urging the state’s other bail-bond companies to follow…
Current and former Maricopa County officials have filed new, streamlined complaints against the county and Sheriff Joe Arpaio to comply with a judge’s order. Filing anew are: County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox and her husband, Earl; County Supervisor Don Stapley; retired Superior Court Judges Barbara Mundell and Gary Donahoe; deputy…
Glendale police announced yesterday that they don’t expect to find missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley alive, and now we know why: it appears her mother, Jerice Hunter, who was arrested yesterday on child abuse charges “directly related to the disappearance,” beat the girl weeks before she was ever reported missing. She…
Scottsdale defense attorney David Appleton fatally shot a father of three during an apparent road-rage incident earlier this month. Yesterday, we learned that the second-degree murder charge against him has been dropped — for now.”We’ve asked the Scottsdale Police Department for some additional investigation before making a final charging decision,”…
The Glendale Police Department confirmed this afternoon that Jerice Hunter, the mother of missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley, has been arrested for child abuse “directly related” to the disappearance of her daughter. Additionally, Glendale Sergeant Brent Coombs says, it’s unlikely the girl will be found alive.”With the information that has come…
Earlier this month, Maricopa County moved at lightning speed to turn over documents to a newspaper about a fired sheriff’s deputy.Now, county officials are taking their sweet time to release records related to the discipline of the fall guy (or gal) who handed over those deputy documents. Part of our…
Picture this: you wake up to find a man with no pants on — wearing nothing but a condom and a tee-shirt — carrying your 4-year-old daughter out of your house at about 6 a.m. That nightmare scenario was a reality for a Phoenix family yesterday morning, compliments of 21-year-old…
Prosecutors have decided not to pursue charges for now against Pamela Haas, the 63-year-old Chandler woman who sliced her husband’s arm with a two-foot-long sword.Both Pamela and her husband, Louis, agree that she took the sword from a wall mounting on November 13 and cut him with it, leaving a…
