A volunteer dance teacher who’s worked with kids at several Valley high schools and a private dance studio is accused of having sex with a then-underage boy who was a student at Mountain Pointe High School in Ahwatukee.David Trujillo, 26, is accused of having sex with the boy beginning when…
The engrossing saga of convicted slasher Jodi Arias is wrapping up after the jury took about an hour on Wednesday to decide her fatal attack on Travis Alexander was “especially cruel.” Next up in the marathon trial that’s gone on since January 2nd: impact statements by Alexander’s family and the…
Upgrading airplane engines for Venezuela’s air force in violation of an arms embargo has resulted in a $250,000 fine and five years’ probation for Phoenix resident Floyd Stilwell. The 87-year-old former owner of Marsh Aviation in Mesa knew he shouldn’t have been doing such work for Venezuela after the 2006…
Bryan Teague of Peoria pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts related to the 5,220-acre wildfire he caused last August in the Tonto National Forest by putting a propane tank in a campfire. Teague, 56, faces the possibility of up to six months in prison, a $5,000 fine, and five years…
In an exclusive post-conviction interview, boyfriend-killer Jodi Arias insisted that she didn’t plan to kill 30-year-old Travis Alexander in 2008. But now that she’s been convicted of premeditated murder, she’d “prefer to die sooner than later.” Arias went on to say to Channel 10’s Troy Hayden, “Longevity runs in my…
It looks like the local Fox affiliate’s weak interview with Jodi Arias is the only interview with her anyone’s going to get in the immediate future.The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office sent a brief to the news media this afternoon saying that the agency received an order from Judge Sherry Stephens…
A former Phoenix firefighter who was driving drunk when he hit a teenager and drove away in 2011 will spend a little time in jail.Mark Nehrenz was sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years on probation for the incident, which left the teenager with a broken hip.See also:-Phoenix…
The National Transportation Safety Board has decided that a blood-alcohol level of .08 is no longer the acceptable maximum for American drivers, and instead wants .05 to be the new threshold for DUIs.That obviously would have a big effect in Arizona, where the penalties for DUI are just about the…
A 26-year-old Phoenix resident told police that he was “very ashamed” that he was caught with his cellphone in an occupied stall in the bathroom of a grocery store.According to court documents obtained by New Times, Thomas Mattham said he was trying to watch the guy in the stall defecate,…
Drama queen/convicted murderer Jodi Arias has been taken off “suicide protocol,” according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.Arias was placed on suicide watch after a jury found her guilty of first-degree, premeditated murder in her killing of Travis Alexander.See also:-Jodi Arias Says She Prefers Death Penalty-Jodi Arias Guilty of First-Degree…
The day after Mother’s Day, a Phoenix mom has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her 6-day-old baby girl, Maya.According to court documents obtained by New Times, 36-year-old Nina Koistinen admitted to smothering the baby girl last month because she “had too many kids already.”See also:-UnHappy…
No doubt many moms enjoyed breakfast in bed, flowers or some chocolaty goodness today in honor of Mother’s Day. But, as New Times’ blogger/reporter Matt Hendley has extensively documented, not all women deserve such special treatment. We can think of a few things these women — some of the worst…
An 18-year-old man was arrested by Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office deputies after tweeting that he planted improvised explosive devices in Jodi Arias’ courtroom.Laquint Cherry, whose Twitter account indicates a severe lack of common sense, was ratted out by local TV news station ABC 15, the station admits in a story…
Police say the husband of a theater director in Phoenix “concocted an elaborate scheme” to tie up two teen student-actresses at the theater for his own sexual gratification.David Harris, a 32-year-old truck driver, admitted to tricking the girls, ages 15 and 18, into being tied up at Xpressions Dance Theatre…
The family of Travis Alexander agrees with the first-degree murder jury verdict against Jodi Arias, and plans to sue Arias in the near future, the family’s lawyer said today.. Jay Beckstead, the family’s lawyer, announced the planned wrongful death suit against Arias today on the steps of the Maricopa County…
Chances seem slim-to-none that Jodi Arias will escape a death sentence. The Maricopa County jury which today found Arias guilty of first-degree murder is scheduled to begin hearing the aggravation, or penalty, phase of the trial tomorrow starting at 1 p.m. Witnesses will likely be called for this phase, meaning…
Jodi Arias was found guilty of first-degree premeditated murder today, and now the jury must decide whether or not to put Arias to death. The jury also found Arias guilty of felony murder. The penalty phase of this trial, which already has lasted four months, will start at 1 p.m…
The man who kind of made Governor Jan Brewer’s comments about headless bodies in the desert a reality was sentenced to 14 years in prison.”Law enforcement agencies have found bodies in the desert either buried or just lying out there that have been beheaded,” Brewer said back in June 2010.See…
UPDATE: Jodi Arias Guilty of First-Degree Premeditated Murder, Jury FindsThe jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial of Jodi Arias.According to a spokesman for the Maricopa County Superior Court, the verdict will be read at 1:30 p.m.See also:-Jury Deciding Arias’ Fate-Psycho Killer-Jodi Arias Is on Twitter, @Jodiannarias-Jodi Arias’…
While the jury is still considering Jodi Arias’ fate for killing Travis Alexander, we have some insight on what’s going on in her head.It’s easy, really, because she’s a nationally known murder defendant with a friggin’ Twitter account, and one of the few words that accurately describes Arias’ posts would…
Kelly Wasko, one of several Valley women recently arrested for a cancer-faking scheme, will be spending some time in prison.Wasko, a 41-year-old Gilbert resident, was sentenced this morning to 18 months in prison for collecting donations through Facebook to treat her fake cancer.See also:-Kelly Wasko, Gilbert Woman Who Faked Cancer…
The jury in the Jodi Arias murder trial huddled at 9 a.m. this morning on its big decision following about an hour of deliberations on Friday. The panel’s decision will be announced about an hour or less after it’s made, court staff tells us this morning. Whether individual jury members…
