The parents of the 14-year-old girl, who escaped from a bathroom where she had been held captive for nearly two months, pleaded not guilty this morning to child abuse and kidnapping charges in Maricopa County Superior Court.Scott and Andrea Bass, according to prosecutors, held their daughter captive in the bathroom as punishment…
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office announced today that a criminal complaint has been filed against the uncle of a 5-year-old girl whose body was found decomposing in a Phoenix apartment last week.The complaint has been filed against 47-year-old Leonard Orta Jr, alleging first degree murder, child abuse, and abandonment or…
It’s official: Giant George, a great dane living in Tucson, is the tallest dog in the world.The Guinness Book of World Records announced today that George is, in fact, the tallest pooch on the planet, an honor his owner had been seeking since August.We wrote about George earlier this month,…
A Phoenix woman was found beaten to death Friday morning in the apartment where she was living in Panama City, Panama.Denise Hiller, a wife and mother, was a computer-software expert working in Panama for a Colorado company that was working on a project expanding the Panama Canal.While working on the project…
The FBI’s bandit-naming department is at it again, and the latest bandit name is even dumber than yesterday’s “no tricks bandit,” who was shot last night by the Dirty Harry of the Scottsdale Police Department, as pointed out in another Valley Fever post. Check it out here.The FBI is now…
Most cops never shoot anyone, and even fewer will kill more than one crime suspect in their careers. Scottsdale Officer James Peters is different: He’s killed five four people in his 10-year career. On Wednesday, he was among several officers who shot and critically wounded another crime suspect. As a Channel 5…
Earlier this week, Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk took the stand to testify about her dealings with Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The testimony was ostensibly about the criminal case against County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox — Wilcox’s lawyer, Colin Campbell, had asked Polk to testify…
We figured it was only a matter of time before the FBI came up with a new, lame moniker for the man responsible for robbing four Valley banks in the last week and attempting to rob another on Tuesday. We figured right.The FBI’s bandit-naming department didn’t disappoint, either. The federal…
Just in case you were worried that Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas aren’t wasting enough money on their jihad against other county officials, we’ve got news for you.Arpaio has now hired his own lawyer to represent his interests in Thomas’ piece-of-crap racketeering lawsuit. Start running the…
Police in Maricopa are looking for a man who has been trying to lure children into his van by telling them there’s candy inside.Seriously? The old, stereotypical “candy-in-the-van” trick was the best idea this creep could come up with?Police say the man has been cruising around the Villages at Rancho…
Geo Trackers are too damned small.A Tracker Vs. pickup collision figured into an article published in New Times last September, with the Tracker occupants coming out much worse.Now, in a similar — but even more tragic — vehicular mismatch, a suspected drunk driver in a 1980 full-size Chevy pickup crossed…
A Phoenix mom was arrested last week on suspicion of sending her daughter and other teens over to an ex-boyfriend’s Tempe house in September to rough the guy up with Tasers and other weapons.Police believe that Katherine Faye White, a 40-year-old woman with a history of forgery and theft convictions,…
In the midst of the state’s looming budget catastrophe, the Arizona Legislature got down to the, um, important business of determining a state horse.The House Government Committee approved a bill that would make the Spanish Colonial the state horse of Arizona.HB 2634, dreamed up by Representative Pat Flemming, would revise the…
Yesterday’s court proceedings examining the question of whether the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office must be removed from prosecuting Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox contained a number of big revelations, as we detailed in this earlier blog post.But one of the most fascinating pieces of news for anyone following these cases involves…
An organization called Dogs 24/7 will be hosting a “speed-dating” event this weekend that hopes to match humans with the Valley’s most eligible dogs.Get your minds out of the gutter — although the group describes the eligible dogs as “bachelors” and “bachelorettes,” this isn’t a bestiality convention, it’s an event…
In a hearing yesterday that stretched to more than four hours, both Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk shared their perspectives on the investigation, and prosecution of, Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. The hearing allowed Wilcox’s attorney, Colin Campbell, to argue that Thomas must be disqualified…
Police in Gooding County, Idaho, arrested two men suspected of murdering a man and assaulting another in Aguila, an unincorporated section of Maricopa County last week.It wasn’t all that difficult tracking the men down, either, police say. They turned themselves in.Corey Ainsile, 25, and Quinn Messersmith, 22, are believed responsible for…
A man suspected of murdering two people in Oregon who was last seen in Mesa will be featured on America’s Most Wanted this weekend if authorities can’t track him down before the show airs on Saturday night.Police in Bandon, Oregon, have been looking for 34-year-old Gabriel Morris since February 8,…
It’s one thing to “just walk away” from that upside-down mortgage and let your home sink into foreclosure. Some folks, though, like to hitch up a flatbed trailer and drive away with every toilet seat, cabinet, and AC unit. Chandler police say that’s what Daniel Clark, 35, tried to do with his former…
The father and step-mother of the 14-year-old girl who was forced to live in a tiny bathroom for nearly two months have been indicted, authorities announced today.A grand jury decided that Scott Bass, 33, and Andrea Bass, 31, will be charged with three counts of child abuse and one count of…
Carlos Mendoza, the justice of the peace who “retired” under questionable circumstances in May 2008, appears to be exploring another run for office.Mendoza filed paperwork in December suggesting that his long dormant campaign-finance committee is again active, according to county records. The paperwork indicates that Mendoza has yet to collect…
The Arizona Game and Fish Department reports a record number of wildlife violations in 2009, including 416 big-game poaching violations. In other words, people were illegally shooting or trapping animals.In total, there were 768 total violations reported to AGFD’s Operation Game Thief program, an increase of 317 from 2008.AGFD officials…
