More drop house news - 14 discovered in Avondale drop house

A joint immigration task force made up of the Department of Public Safety, Phoenix police and federal immigration agents have discovered a drop house in Avondale.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves says 14 suspected illegal immigrants were found in the home. Four suspected human smugglers have been arrested.

Graves says the suspects will likely be booked on charges of human smuggling.

In an unusual twist, the smugglers used close circuit video to monitor their human cargo. Graves says one camera was set up in a room where the immigrants were held. The smugglers would watch their victims from another room in the house.

Graves says the house was heavily fortified to keep the immigrants from escaping. The victims told authorities they were beaten and threatened if they tried to escape.

Avondale girl raped, 3 suspects still on the loose!

Avondale police are looking for three men in connection with the suspected rape of a 15-year-old girl who was attacked while walking home from La Joya Community High School last week.

School officials have not notified parents about the assault pending a police investigation, said Dave Briggs, deputy superintendent for the Tolleson Union High School District.

The girl was assaulted between 6 and 6:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in a park near South 112th Lane and West Whyman Avenue, police reported on Monday.

The suspects drove by the victim three times before the assault occurred, police said. At one point, the victim ignored a question from the suspects and continued walking, said Sgt. Mirela Butler.

On the third drive-by, two men exited the car, forced the victim to the ground and dragged her to the park, according to Butler. One man held the girl down while the other sexually assaulted her, Butler said.

Police released an artist's rendering of the man who allegedly restrained the victim during the assault. He is described as a Hispanic man, 5 feet 10-11 inches tall, with scars on the right cheek bone and the left side of his cheek. He had black hair combed back and a tattoo on the right inner forearm. He was last seen wearing a white short-sleeve shirt and tan pants.

The man suspected of committing the assault is described as Hispanic, about 6 feet tall with short black hair and a scar on the left eyebrow. He has a tattoo of three dots between the thumb and index finger of his right hand. He was last seen wearing a black shirt, blue jeans and a black beanie cap, according to police.

Both suspects spoke Spanish and English with heavy accents. They are believed to be 20 to 30 years old.

The third suspect drove the getaway car. Police have no physical description.

Butler said the victim had never seen any of the men before.

Police are looking for a white, four-door sedan with an Arizona license plate that includes the letter "T" and the number 3. The car also had the letter "C" affixed to the rear of the vehicle.

Anyone with information should call the Avondale Police Department at 623-333-7000.

Showing indecent photographsis a NO-NO!

The following is a press release from the Buckeye Police Department:

Buckeye police have arrested a Verrado High School employee who allegedly showed an indecent photograph to three female students on school grounds.

Vincent Petti, 26, an Avondale resident, was booked into the Maricopa County Jail Wednesday on three felony counts of furnishing harmful materials to a minor.

The three female students told police that Petti showed the photograph to them on the school campus sometime within the last month.

School officials said Petti, an in-school suspension coordinator and an assistant boys football coach at Verrado High School, was suspended Monday morning after the allegations arose. Agua Fria School District administration continues to review all allegations and will consider further disciplinary action.

Petti has been employed with the district since August.

Verrado High School administrators were sending a letter home to parents today explaining the situation. School district officials are cooperating with Buckeye police as the investigation continues.

More violence in Avondale, Arizona

The incident happened near 107th Ave. and Buckeye Rd.
Police have arrested a suspect.

An Avondale, Arizona shooting left one teen dead and three others injured, according to police.

The incident happened near 107th Ave. and Buckeye Rd.

Although details are sketchy at this time, police said one male has been arrested and they are not looking for any other suspects.

VCAT arrests 16 fugitives in Arizona within one week

Sixteen fugitives were arrested in Arizona during the last week of August by the Arizona Department of Public Safety Violent Criminal Apprehension Team.

DPS was instructed to develop a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional statewide plan to identify and arrest individuals with outstanding felony warrants, or VCAT, on May 12th.

According to officials, VCAT has arrested 250 fugitives and 330 felony warrants have been cleared.

Recent arrests include David Herriges for a felony warrant for Probation Violation on Molestation of a Child charges. Herriges reportedly admitted to touching children in the bathrooms while attending church in Avondale.

Thomas Wright was arrested for a felony warrant for Burglary, Forgery, Theft, Taking Identity of another, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of Burglary Tools.

Carmen King was arrested for a felony warrant for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Theft of Means of Transportation.

Marlee Sharp was arrested for a felony warrant for Aggravated Assault.

Arizona's largest prostitution bust involves homes in Avondale

The huge bust of a Valley-wide prostitution ring included search warrants for two homes in the Garden Lakes development in northern Avondale.

Phoenix police conducted raids on homes across the Valley, serving warrants on 10 residences on Monday and Tuesday . Police said they have made 29 arrests so far related to the ring.

The two homes in Avondale are located at:
10767 W. Citrus Grove Way
11123 W. Dana Lane near Indian School Road and 107th Avenue.

The house on Dana Lane is where police believe online pornography videos were made and is within a quarter mile of Garden Lakes Elementary School and Westview High School.

Adam Beech, 25, who was arrested Aug. 4, is facing charges against him that include: 1 felony count of conspiracy; 1 felony count of illegal control of enterprise; 1 felony count of money laundering; 1 felony count of receive earnings of prostitute; 1 felony count of maintain house of prostitution; 3 felony counts of induce to prostitute.

Adam Beech, 25, who is the current owner of the home on 10767 W. Citrus Grove Way in Avondale, according to the county recorders office, is said to have been renting out the 11123 W. Dana Lane home. There has been no word on wether or not the owners of the 11123 W. Dana Lane home in Avondale are involved at this time.

A neighbor of one of the homes who wished to remain anonymous said she had reported suspicious activity there to police in February of this year.

Another neighbor, Don Montague, 85, who lives across the street, said he had never seen anything abnormal at the house.

"My understanding was the next door neighbor had some idea about it, but no one ever talked about it besides that. I certainly never saw anything until the police showed up," Montague said.

At least 100 people, mostly prostitutes, worked in the Phoenix-based operation that set up dates through a number of escort Web sites, police said. The investigation has connections to Philadelphia and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Phoenix police handled the investigation. Avondale police confirmed they were not involved.

Suspected "Wig Bandits" arrested in Avondale after heist

A multi-agency manhunt for a group of bank robbery suspects known as the Wig Bandits came to an end on the streets of Avondale Tuesday afternoon.

Police in Avondale were summoned to a Bank of America near 115th Avenue and Buckeye Road about 3 p.m. Inside the branch, four armed men were committing a robbery.

The four suspects, joined by two women, were arrested more than a mile away by responding officers.Investigators from three local police departments and the FBI claim members of this group took part in at least 15 bank robberies. Prior robberies attributed to the group happened in three Arizona cities: Phoenix, Glendale and Scottsdale. In some cases, they wore women’s wigs while committing their crimes.

Detectives have refused to allow the release of the suspect’s names or their pictures. The arrests were followed by the service of several search warrants.