Two arrested in connection with local vehicle burglaries
Two people from Maricopa have been arrested after one made purchases at a local drugstore, using a stolen credit card.
On June 22nd, the victim in the case was notified by the store of the transactions. Maricopa Police were contacted and began investigating. Police were able to follow up on the lead and arrested 20 year-old Jennifer Pavloff of Maricopa. During an interview, Pavloff admitted to taking the wallet and using the stolen credit card.
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Soup and frozen dinner recall may affect your pantry
FLORENCE – The Pinal County Division of Environmental Health is warning residents of a recent recall of two popular food items.
On Thursday, June 17, Campbell Food Soup Supply Company, LLC, along with ConAgra Foods Packaged Foods, LLC, issued a voluntary recall of two popular food brands.
Campbell Foods is recalling the following items:
- 14.75-ounce cans of “SpaghettiOs” with Meatballs, bearing the identifying product code “U5″ on the bottom of the can.
- 14.75-ounce cans of “SpaghettiOs” A to Z with Meatballs, bearing the identifying product code “4N” on the bottom of the can.
- 14.75-ounce cans of “SpaghettiOs” Fun Shapes with Meatballs (Cars), bearing the identifying product code “KS” on the bottom of the can.
Kimball: Things to consider regarding recently passed concealed carry legislation
As some of you may already know the recent concealed carry legislation that passed will become law on or about July 17th, 2010. It, in a nutshell, “de-criminalizes” the offense of carrying a concealed firearm in the State of Arizona without a permit as long as the individual is twenty one years of age or older and is not a “prohibited possessor” according to the state statues.
Things to consider before heading out to your local gun store, purchasing a handgun, and ultimately carrying it concealed;
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Pearce to speak in support of local Senate candidate
Maricopa resident Steve Smith, candidate for Arizona State Senate, will be holding a “Meet and Greet” mixer this Friday at The Duke at Rancho El Dorado.
State Senator Russell Pearce, author of immigration bill SB 1070, will be speaking at the event as will House of Representatives candidate John Fillmore. Maricopa Mayor Anthony Smith will also be in attendance.
The event will be held in The Duke’s Silver Spur Restaurant from 6:45 to 9:00 pm. Refreshments will be provided along with food and drink specials for all who attend. The event is open to the public.
The Duke is located at 42660 West Rancho El Dorado Parkway.
Smoke detectors save Meadows family from fire
Early Thursday morning, a Maricopa family awoke to the sound of alarms and the smell of smoke inside their Maricopa Meadows home. The mother of the house was able to get her family and pets out of the home safely, then called 911.
Acting Captain Dusty Jenkins of the Maricopa Fire Department, part of the first crew to arrive at the two-story home on West Dutchman Drive, stated that upon arrival he saw an open front door and smoke coming out of the building. As he walked around the home he found one of the windows on the first floor with smoke and flames shooting out.
When the crew made entry into the house they found thick smoke at head level, made their way to the fire, and quickly put it out. The fire was kept to one room and its contents.
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Maricopa seeing increase in vehicle break-ins
In the month of June, the Maricopa Police Department has seen a dramatic increase in vehicle burglaries around the city. The most recent was a rash of vehicles broken into in the Senita community on the night of June 13th.
Items being taken during these crimes include wallets, stereo equipment, tools, money, blank checks and even clothing. All of the vehicles broken into were parked outside of a garage and over 70% where found to have been unlocked when crimes occurred.
Maricopa Police spokesman Sgt Stephen Judd said the department is working hard to solve these crimes, but often physical evidence is very scarce in these types of cases. MPD has increased proactive patrol within Senita and throughout the city during the nighttime hours.
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Double murder near Maricopa likely connected to drug smuggling
Two young men found murdered in the desert near Interstate 8 and State Route 84 were most likely drug-runners robbed and killed by a competing cartel, according to Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu.
On the evening of Sunday, June 6th, Pinal County 911 operators received a call from a Spanish-speaking man who said that he and his “partner” had been shot in the desert. During a series of calls that lasted around 28 minutes, the man pleaded for rescue, identifying his location as “Where they shot the sheriff”, referring the shooting of Pinal County Sheriff’s Deputy Louie Puroll five weeks earlier. Puroll had been tracking six suspected smugglers in the area near Antelope Pass when he was ambushed and shot with an automatic weapon. The deputy survived the attack and has since returned to duty.
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County seeking financing for long-term projects
FLORENCE – The Pinal County Board of Supervisors will be looking at a long-term debt proposal to complete and refinance projects throughout the county.
The long-term bond will finance the following projects: Public Health facilities in Maricopa and Santan Valley; administrative facilities for the Pinal County Human Resources Department; and refinancing a portion of the costs of the Superior Court Judicial facility and the Sheriff’s Administrative facility in order to save money.
The cost of the long-term financing will not exceed $33,500,000 with an estimated interest of $15,871,760. The total financing cost will be $49,371,760.
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Countywide multi-hazard mitigation plan now open for comment
FLORENCE – A planning team comprised of representatives from throughout Pinal County and several incorporated jurisdictions has reviewed and updated an existing multi-hazard mitigation plan which was consolidated into a single multi-jurisdictional, multi-hazard mitigation plan. The mitigation plan addresses the natural hazards that pose the greatest risk to residents and critical infrastructure. A final draft of the 2010 Pinal County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan is now available for review and comment.
A well coordinated planning effort for hazard mitigation was conducted for Pinal County jurisdictions, in accordance with the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000. The Act requires all local, county, tribal and state governments to have an approved Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) hazard mitigation plan in order to be eligible for federal disaster mitigation grant funding. The plan focuses on the most threatening hazards throughout Pinal County and provides a strategy to reduce or eliminate the risk to people and property from those hazards.
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Former police officer convicted of sexual misconduct
A former Mesa Police officer and Maricopa resident has been convicted by a Pinal County jury of 32 counts of crimes against children.
Maricopa Police were summoned to the Senita home of Justin Bowman, 31, back in October of 2008 due to a reported suicide attempt. After Bowman was medically cleared, he was subsequently arrested for being in possession of a sexually exploitative photograph which his wife had discovered and then notified police.
Police were also advised of alleged sexual abuse involving two victims who were under 12 years-old. During the course of the investigation, the victims disclosed numerous sexual acts with Bowman which occurred between March and October 2008. Two search warrants were served on the residence in which items collected included Bowman’s cellular phone and several computer items.
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