Gusse: Maricopa needs a new direction
Dear Citizens of Maricopa,
I want to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve each of you as we jointly mold Maricopa into a city that can reach it’s truest potential. As a newly elected Councilmember I am spending a large amount of my time learning how to become an effective councilwoman. However, the experience has been quite interesting due to the fact that every step I take forward is scrutinized and questioned by City Management.
I have reviewed our City Code and the structure of our town is simple. The City Council sets policy and the City Manager works at the will and pleasure of the City Council. However, in our case, it seems to be the other way around.
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SB1070 opponents protest outside Phoenix jail
What started out as a lunch appointment in downtown Phoenix turned into a protest outside the Fourth Avenue Jail.
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SWAT situation in Glennwilde ends peacefully
Maricopa Police were dispatched to the 41000 block of West Cheyenne Drive in Glennwilde, early this morning, on a report of subject threatening suicide with a gun. The reporting family member stated the man was threatening himself and that she had locked herself in a bedroom inside the residence.
Police arrived on scene shortly after 1:00 am and attempted to make contact with the subject. At one point, the man opened the garage door carrying a handgun. Recognizing police were on scene, he abruptly closed the garage door and refused to comply with officers.
The Pinal County Regional SWAT Team was notified and responded to assist. At around 6:45 am, after several attempts to negotiate with the subject had failed, the SWAT team made entry into the residence and the subject was taken into custody without incident. The subject, Gabe Rodriguez (21), of Maricopa, was transported to a valley hospital for evaluation. A 13 year-old female family member was removed from the residence unharmed.
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County Attorney responds to SB1070 decision
Statement from Pinal County Attorney James P. Walsh:
Yesterday’s decision by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked key provisions of Arizona’s new criminal immigration law, popularly know as SB 1070, while allowing other portions of SB 1070 to go into effect today.
The key provisions which cannot be enforced unless the Court’s ruling is changed or overruled include the new state crimes of failing to complete or carry an alien registration card and trying to secure work while not a legal resident. The basis for the ruling was that the enjoined parts of the new law were in an area preempted by federal law. The Court’s Preliminary Injunction will remain in effect until a trial on the merits unless it is appealed by the State of Arizona in which case the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals could reverse, uphold or modify the decision.
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Maricopa Police make aggravated assault arrest
Early Sunday morning, Maricopa Police responded to the 43000 block of West Elizabeth Avenue, in Senita, on a report of a fight.
Once on scene, responding officers found an injured male outside the residence who appeared unresponsive and who had several injuries to his head. The Maricopa Fire Department responded to provide emergency medical aid.
During the course of the investigation it was determined, through several eyewitnesses at the party, that the owner of the home, 22-year-old Chad George and the victim had become involved in a verbal altercation.
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Babeu issues statement regarding SB1070 decision
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has issued the following statement in response to U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton’s injunction against certain provisions of SB1070, Arizona’s new immigration law, which goes into effect tonight at midnight:
“Incredibly, even though there is not one person who can legitimately claim to be harmed by a law that has not even taken effect, the result of an injunction is de facto amnesty through non-enforcement of laws against illegal immigration,”
“The federal government refuses to secure the border and leaves it to states like Arizona to bear the costs of its inaction. Yet, when we try to do the job they won’t do, in a manner consistent with federal law, they stop us. You couldn’t make up something this ridiculous.”
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Police apprehend Lakes vehicle burglars
Tuesday morning, shortly before 5:00 am, Maricopa Police responded to the 41000 block of West Bravo Drive, in The Lakes at Rancho El Dorado, due to reports of a vehicle burglary in progress.
The victim advised that she surprised two male suspects entering into three vehicles that were parked at the residence and that the suspects had fled on foot. Police arrived and immediately located the two suspects in the backyard of a vacant residence a short distance away. The suspects fled from police into an open field, where officers quickly took them into custody.
The suspects, two male juveniles age 17 from Maricopa and 16 from Ak-Chin, were booked into the Pinal County Juvenile Detention Center in Florence on several counts of vehicle burglary. MPD detectives are continuing to work this case and anticipate that additional vehicle burglary cases will be cleared as a result of these arrests.
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Two bodies recovered from desert in separate incidents
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office is investigating two bodies that were discovered in different remote desert locations within the county during the past week.
Last Thursday, at around 1:00 in the afternoon, PCSO was contacted by the U.S. Border Patrol regarding a possible dead body. The Border Patrol had detained seven suspected illegal immigrants and they reported that a member travelling in their party had fallen behind and was deceased.
Members of the Sheriff’s Office searched the area where the individuals described and were able to locate the deceased body of an adult male subject. The body was found four miles south of Interstate 8 and milepost 149. The body was transported to the Medical Examiners Office to determine the cause of death.
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The Duke hit by overnight burglary
Shortly after closing Friday night, burglars broke into the golf shop at The Duke at Rancho El Dorado in Maricopa.
According to employees, the perpetrators used part of an outdoor umbrella to chisel their way through a wall behind an alarm control panel and apparently disabled the shop’s security system.
The robbers then broke through an outside door and headed for the shop’s safe. The safe was severely damaged and employees were not able to gain entry to it the following morning.
As of press time, it is not known if the burglars were able to successfully gain entry to the safe, or if anything else was taken from the shop. The incident was captured on surveillance video.
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11 year-old struck by vehicle while riding bike
This past Wednesday, around 7:30 pm, Maricopa Police responded to the intersection of Goles Drive and Venture Road, in Rancho El Dorado, on a report of a vehicle versus pedestrian injury accident.
When officers arrived on scene the Maricopa Fire Department was giving aid to an injured 11-year-old boy. The victim was responsive at the time and was identified and the child’s guardian was summoned to the scene.
The victim was transported to the Maricopa County Medical Center in stable condition by Southwest Ambulance, with non-life threatening injuries.
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