Paul Chapa says he “does a lot of stupid shit when he is drunk.”According to what police say he did to a girl beginning when she was 3 or 4 years old, that’s an understatement.According to court documents obtained by New Times, Chapa, a 49-year-old truck driver, is accused of…
Believe it or not, the Feathered Bastard Stephen Lemons is thinking recalled Senate President Russell Pearce isn’t exactly being truthful about his ties to J.T. Ready, who police believe murdered four people before icing himself in a Gilbert home Wednesday.Lemons has been covering the duo for quite some time now,…
The Gilbert murder/suicide in which five people were shot and killed — allegedly at the hands of neo-Nazi J.T. Ready — began as a domestic-violence incident between Ready and his girlfriend, Lisa Mederos, police say.At a press conference this afternoon (thanks to 12 News for the live feed), Gilbert police…
At the Gilbert home where five people died yesterday in an apparent murder/suicide — allegedly perpetrated by neo-Nazi J.T. Ready — there was a reason the bomb squad showed up: six grenades.Gilbert police said this morning that “hazardous chemicals and military grade munitions” were found by investigators once a search…
Until around 5 a.m. today, news outlets were relying on sources to confirm neo-Nazi J.T. Ready was among the five people dead in yesterday’s massacre in Gilbert.Gilbert police have now confirmed Ready is dead, along with four other people, including a baby born last January.If Ready’s name doesn’t ring a…
A Phoenix woman pleaded guilty today to charges related to locking her 14-year-old stepdaughter in a bathroom for months, barely feeding her, and forcing her to exercise until exhaustion.Andrea Bass pleaded guilty today to two counts of attempted child abuse, several months after her husband, Scott Bass, also took a…
Reginald Gardner Jr., who happened to disappear around the time his 88-year-old grandmother was found dead in her Mesa home, was arrested while strolling around Miami Beach on Friday, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.Gardner, 43, faces a second-degree murder charge in his grandmother’s death.Lola Pershall’s body — which…
A pit bull went on a biting spree in a Phoenix neighborhood Tuesday after the dog’s owner allegedly ordered the pooch to attack her neighbor during an argument.The pit bull didn’t go after the neighbor, instead attacking five people on the street, one as young as 12 years old.The owner’s…
John Vigileos, a Tempe-based criminal-defense attorney, is being held without bond at the Maricopa County Jail after confessing to Gilbert police that he sexually molested his 12-year-old step-daughter at his home. The 45-year-old lawyer was arrested in the early-morning hours of April 23 after a series of previously unpublicized events…
As our colleague Ray Stern reported yesterday, former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas may have to fork over $554,000 for the disciplinary proceeding that ended with him losing his law license.Thomas, as you may recall, was disbarred by a Supreme Court disciplinary panel that found he and some of his…
On April 22, Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputies went to the Sun City home of Lancelot Lipe after receiving anonymous calls about a fire burning at his place.According to court documents obtained by New Times, Lipe, 29, didn’t want the cops there, as he gave deputies a good ol’ “fuck you”…
People apparently are gambling on pigeon races in Arizona, and there’s actually a group that cares about it. Of course, that group’s called PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).PETA says it’s just completed a “15-month undercover investigation” over five states, including Arizona, into pigeon-racing operations.See, pigeons — which…
Andrew Thomas could be forced to pay $554,000 for the disciplinary proceeding that resulted in his disbarment. (UPDATED: The amount was first filed as $296,300, as we reported earlier today. The State Bar just informed us that an amended bill will be filed tomorrow with the new, higher amount. We’ll…
If Phoenix police are right on this one, then just about nothing was appropriate inside the sedan that crashed head-on into a Chevrolet truck Monday morning.Police say a 5-year-old boy in the sedan died in the crash, as cops believe the boy not only was not restrained by a car…
Dominic Chagolla was described as a bit of a mama’s boy in court documents obtained by New Times detailing the death of his mother, Maria Chagolla, in December 2010.Turns out, he wasn’t that much of a mama’s boy, as a jury found Dominic Chagolla guilty today of first-degree murder in…
Believe it or not, sneaking into a house and stripping down to your underwear to hop in bed with a random 14-year-old girl could lead to prison time.Four-and-a-half years in prison, in Jacob Nelson’s case.In July, Phoenix police said that Nelson, 35, waited for a father of two to leave…
In 2002, Scottsdale resident Steven Dyer was to face charges of molesting two boys. He said no thanks and went to Canada instead.While he was gone, a court convicted him on a dozen counts of sexual conduct with a minor, which didn’t mean much until he was caught in Canada…
If Warren Jeffs — pedophile/leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints — had any marbles left when he was sent to prison, he just lost the rest of them.Jeffs, who’s in prison for sexually assaulting two underage “brides,” wrote a petition to the Texas Court…
Added to the running list of places not to keep babies — the camper to a truck parked outside a Peoria McDonald’s.Peoria police say an anonymous tipster led them to an “extremely unhealthy” 3-month-old yougnster in the back of the truck, at the McD’s near Thunderbird and Loop 101.If you…
Twenty-seven years ago, a 40-year-old named Luis Gonzales, was struck and killed by a train near Central Avenue.The man had no identification except for a workplace time card that contained his name and the wrong date of birth, which pegged him as a 53-year-old.Another Luis Gonzales with that birthdate was…
Lawyers for Maricopa County and Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox have agreed on a schedule to present their court arguments for why the county should pay Wilcox a $975,000 settlement. As one of the targets of failed investigations by Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas, Wilcox is suing the sheriff…
Here’s a quick rundown on Maricopa County news today:* Andrew Peyton Thomas, former Maricopa County Attorney, failed politician and author of right-wing books, won’t appeal a state Supreme Court Disciplinary Panel’s decision to cancel his law license. We’ve cut-and-pasted his wussyish comments about being railroaded below. As Thomas explained in…
