To guard against possible conflicts of interest, the Arizona Supreme Court has handed off bar complaints against Maricopa County Attorney Andy Thomas to a Colorado official. John Gleason, regulation attorney for the Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of Attorney Regulation will now have the job of sorting out the various allegations of…
A 19-year-old man shot in the midsection during a fight outside of a Scottsdale house last week would have suffered worse injuries but for a well-timed punch, says the man’s father. Ted Leitner, a sportscaster for the San Diego Padres and other teams, told a San Diego Union-Tribune columnist that…
David Elms, founder of a hooker-finding Web site, has been sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for trying to hire someone to assault a business rival. Elms also was sentenced to five years’ probation for his role in the infamous Desert Divas prostitution ring broken up by authorities a couple of…
Critics of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio will have the chance to air their grievances tomorrow before County Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox.Stapley and Wilcox, still fresh from their recent victories over attempts by Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas to prosecute them, will meet with members of…
Police today released the sketch of a man sought in connection with the kidnapping and molestation of a 4-year-old girl in Phoenix on Saturday. The case sounds like the stereotypical parental nightmare: A little girl snatched by a pervert in a public place during daylight hours. Cops say the girl…
Jack Rose, the man who put together the deal to bring the Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds to Goodyear for spring training, only to be driven from the project under a cloud of suspicion, has been charged in a criminal complaint.The felony charges were filed by the Maricopa County Attorney’s…
Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley filed a precursor to a lawsuit today against the county and various elected officials — including himself — for alleged malicious prosecution and other grievances. He wants $5 million for his troubles. The notice of claim was filed with the Board of Supervisors, of which he is chairman, Sheriff…
Hear that?It’s the sound of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas saying absolutely nothing after their March 11 news conference was shown to be a total farce.At the conference with the elected officials and their attorney, Robert Driscoll, reporters and the public were led to believe the U.S…
The person who called in a bomb threat that cleared out the Maricopa County Superior Court building on December 2, one day after a detention officer was ordered to jail by a judge, made a similar threat to the Public Defender’s Office two days before. Some folks may never believe…
The music minister of the First Southern Baptist Church of Phoenix has resigned after being arrested last week in connection with a misdemeanor sex crime. Phoenix police arrested Gordon Christopher, 59, about 5:45 p.m. on March 9, and sought prosecution on a charge of “public sexual indecency — sexual contact,” records show…
That was fast.Just one short week after he was appointed to be a special investigator, charged with probing Bar complaints into Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, J. Scott Rhodes has withdrawn from the task.The news came in a written statement from the Arizona Supreme Court this afternoon. The court had…
E-mails penned by Maricopa County sheriff’s officers — as well as all other county employees — will stay for now with Maricopa County officials, and not the Sheriff’s Office, a judge has ruled.At a hearing in Tucson last week, Pima County Superior Court Judge Ted Borek ordered that his preliminary…
Former Congressman J.D. Hayworth says the only way to keep a man from marrying a horse is through a federal marriage amendment.Naturally, we can think of several other snafus that might keep a man from marrying a horse — namely a horse’s inability to speak or sign a marriage license (basic…
Two weeks ago, Pima County Superior Court Judge John Leonardo issued a scathing ruling against Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas — kicking him off the prosecution of County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox and dismissing the charges against Wilcox to boot.That decision was a complete excoriation of Thomas’ attempts to prosecute…
They got ’em.Police in Navajo County have two men in custody they believe are responsible for a string of bank robberies stretching across four states, including Arizona.Police believe the “High Country Bandits,” as the pair were dubbed by the FBI’s bandit-naming department, are responsible for 16 bank robberies in Arizona,…
When you file a lawsuit that’s vigorously contested, but withdraw it before any judgment or settlement in the case — that’s called failure, right? At the least, it would appear to be the acknowledgment of a mistake. Not so, according to Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas. Thomas said today that…
This just in: Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio have dismissed the lawsuit that accused county officials, judges, and their lawyers of being part of a “criminal enterprise.”The suit — which the duo filed in December — spared no detail in exploring Thomas’ allegations that the Board…
It’s no secret that Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has been on a quest to stop the State Bar of Arizona’s duly appointed independent investigator from even thinking about beginning an investigation into Thomas’ ethical mishaps.Almost immediately after Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca Berch appointed J. Scott Rhodes to…
Avondale police are looking for a bank-robbery suspect who held up a Chase bank earlier this afternoon.Police say the suspect hit the Chase Bank at 1545 North Dysart Road about noon and is still on the loose.The suspect walked into the bank, presented a demand note indicating that he had a weapon,…
A substitute teacher in Surprise has some explaining to do after police found her in possession of a computer that belonged to the school where she worked.Jeanette Guyer, 42, was a substitute teacher at the Desert Moon Elementary School in Surprise but left the school just before Christmas.Surprise police Sergeant…
This just in: Attorney J. Scott Rhodes is part of the conspiracy to deprive Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas of his law license!We’re kidding — but only kind of. The real scoop is that Rhodes, an attorney at Jennings Strouss, has agreed to serve as independent counsel on complaints that…
Phoenix police are asking the public’s help in tracking down the killer of a Phoenix man murdered early Saturday morning.The victim, whom police identified as 21-year-old Aaron Mathew Ford, was shot just after midnight on Saturday, near the northbound access road to the Black Canyon Freeway near 4450 N. Black…
