Bestiality on craigslist in Arizona

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Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon plays hanky panky with chief campaign fundraiser, a woman 20 years younger, Elissa Mullany

The ink on his divorce isn't final, but that hasn't stopped Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon from dating his chief campaign fundraiser, a woman 20 years younger, Elissa Mullany, 38.

Gordon has hired a public relations firm and private attorney. A review of records reveals one of Mullany's companies received a $5,000 contract with the City of Phoenix to plan a breakfast at the Phoenix Municipal Stadium on February 27, 2004. Documents also show Gordon appointed Mullany to multiple city committees during the last five years.

Most recently, she served as a board member on his Phoenix Global Trade Initiative, which paid for her to travel to Dubai. Mullany also traveled to Saudi Arabia and Israel with the mayor. Calls to Mullany's office and cell phone were not returned. Mullany is a paid employee of Gordon's mayoral campaign.

According to the mayor's campaign expenditure reports, Mullany and her business partners have been paid tens of thousands of dollars. Her company, MullanyWunder LLC, raised more than $1 million for the mayor's campaign.

Between 2004 and 2009, Mullany served at various times on the city's Encanto Village Planning Committee, Alhambra Village Planning Committee, Citizen's Transit Commission, and Phoenix Sister Cities Commission. Gordon nominated her for two of these appointments.

According to the news release, Gordon asked Phoenix City Attorney Gary Verburg for his "opinion on the appropriateness of any past and future appointments of her to city commissions."

In a letter to the mayor on Wednesday, Verburg said, "It is my opinion that no ordinance or conflict of interest law has been violated as a result of these appointments."

Gordon is also consulting with former Arizona State Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Zlaket to review "matters related to my campaign and private sector initiatives."

Erik Lampert is suspected of killing his 61-year old mother and 14-year old nephew.

"It's a very tough case," according to Detective James Holmes.

It started with a woman finding her 61-year old mother dead inside her Phoenix home near 3rd Avenue and Hatcher. Just a few hours earlier, cops say 35-year old Erik Lampert and his 14-year old nephew Loggan Lampert had been visiting. When police arrived, both Erik and Loggan were gone.

"We really had hope that Loggan was okay," recalls Holmes. "Unfortunately, that hope was dashed on us."

After getting a search warrant for the home, detectives found Loggan's body in a trash can in the backyard.

"The family obviously is very upset and distraught," says Holmes. "They mentioned to us that Erik was on some type of medication that he had not taken."

Police say Erik Lampert has a history of mental illness and should not be approached. They do want to hear from you if you see him. He's described as 6 feet tall, 210 pounds, with brown hair and eyes and a full beard. He has a flower tattoo on his right shoulder and a dragon on his left arm.

Early morning fire rips through Phoenix duplexes

An early morning fire ripped through a pair of duplexes in Phoenix Tuesday.

It happened at about 5 a.m. at 32nd Avenue and Melvin.

Flames tore through one duplex and badly damaged the other.

Some 30 firefighters were called out to the scene and went defensive once they learned nobody was inside either of the structures. Both were vacant.

Neighbors said the landlord might have been doing some electrical work in one of the duplexes, but at this point, firefighters don't know for sure how the fire started.

No injuries were reported and an investigation is under way.

Samantha Angela Somegustava gets LIFE in prison for 2005 murder

A Laveen woman has been sentenced to life in prison for the shooting of a man who had given her and a friend a ride.

Samantha Angela Somegustava, 26, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Valentin Cruz-Gabriel. Her sentence from Judge Timothy Ryan specifies that there is no possibility of parole.

According to court documents, Somegustava was hitchhiking on March 3, 2005, when Cruz-Gabriel gave her a ride in west Phoenix. She had him drive to a home so she could use the bathroom and, while there, picked up Richard Enos, and convinced Cruz-Gabriel to give him a ride, too. Police said Enos had a sawed-off shotgun, took over the car and that he and Somegustava drove to a vacant field where they killed and robbed Cruz-Gabriel.

Somegustava was arrested 11 days later at her home, in possession of Cruz-Gabriel's car and his credit card.

Enos was convicted of first-degree murder at trial and sentenced to life in prison in October 2007.

Swine flu scare hits Arizona hard

State health officials say the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed three additional cases of swine flu in Arizona.

Three school-aged children in the Chandler Unified School District have been identified as having contracted swine flu and all are recovering. None of the three required hospitalization.

In response and in accordance with CDC guidelines, Maricopa County's health director, Bob England, has decided to dismiss students from Tarwater Elementary and Hartford Sylvia Encinas Elementary School for seven calendar days. There is no known relationship between these three students. One of the cases had been home during the infectious period and could not have infected anyone in his/her school.

The cases confirmed today bring the total in the state to four.

Since Sunday, the state Department of Health Services has sent 56 flu samples to the CDC in Atlanta, and 52 are pending. It's not clear when those results are expected.

The first positive case was confirmed Wednesday in an 8-year-old northwest Phoenix boy. Although he had already recovered and returned to school, health officials ordered his school closed for a week to prevent the disease from spreading.

The swine flu virus is a new type of virus never seen in people until it was discovered last week. It is a combination of swine, avian and human influenza, and responds well when treated with anti-virals. The swine flu has the same symptoms as regular or seasonal influenza: sudden onset of high fever, runny nose, body aches and exhaustion. Some people with the swine flu have nausea and diarrhea.

Man found guilty in murder of two teens back in 1984

County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced today that Mark Stephen Merila, 44 (DOB 8/25/64), has been found guilty of the kidnappings and murders of two teenage girls in 1984.

The victims were 16 and 14 at the time of their deaths. Kelly Cooper and Ermelinda Iannuzzi were friends who both went missing in Mesa twenty-four years ago. Their bodies were discovered along the Beeline Highway three days after their disappearance. Merila, who had resided in Phoenix, was connected to the deaths through DNA evidence and arrested in San Diego in 2006.

After a four week trial, a jury returned their verdicts on November 3, 2008. Merila was found guilty of two counts of First Degree Murder, class one dangerous felonies, and two counts of Kidnapping, class two dangerous felonies.

In December 2005, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement notified the Arizona Department of Public Service of a match from a DNA profile that DPS had submitted in 2002 to a national database administered through the FBI. The match was made to Merila, a Florida convicted offender. In January 2006, the DPS notified the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, the investigative agency in the case, that it had confirmed the match. The MCSO placed a note hold to a Florida warrant out on the defendant for a probation violation and absconding. On March 14, 2006, Merila approached San Diego Police and advised them that he wanted to turn himself in on a warrant as friends had seen his photograph on TV announcing he was wanted.

“I commend the investigators who never gave up. My hope is that because of their diligent work, some measure of peace will be imparted to the families of these two innocent victims,” said Thomas.

The defendant will be sentenced on December 5, 2008 in the courtroom of Judge Christopher Whitten. He faces life in prison for the murder charges.

Deputy County Attorneys Mark Barry and Kristen Larish are prosecuting the case.

More suspected illegals, coyotes found at Phoenix drop house

Several suspected illegal immigrants are in custody after a drop-house bust in the West Valley.

Police said it was one of the suspected illegals who led them to the house at 75th Avenue and Indian School Road.

Officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided the home Monday night. They discovered six suspected illegal immigrants, including one child.

Those people were being held against their will in exchange for money. None of them was hurt.

Investigators said somebody inside the house tipped them off when he called his sister Monday morning and told her that he was being for ransom. Police were able to track the call to the home.

Three alleged coyotes were also taken into custody.

Phoenix Home Prices keep going down...FAST!

Phoenix is faring worse than most cities according to the Standard & Poor's 20 City Housing Index.

NEW YORK (AP) _ A closely watched index shows Valley home prices tumbling by the sharpest annual rate ever in July.

The newly released Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index showed a record drop of 16.3 percent in July from the year-ago period - the largest drop since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index plunged 17.5 percent, its biggest decline in its 21-year history.

Home values in all 20 cities fell year-over-year, with Phoenix faring worse than most cities. Prices Valleywide plummeted more than 29 percent in July from one year ago.

The only metro area doing worse than Phoenix is Las Vegas, where prices are plunging at nearly 30 percent.

However, the pace of declines has slowed over the last three months, but there is still no sign of a bottom, one of the index creators said.

Could the drop in violent crime be linked to illegals leaving?

The latest FBI crime reports show an overall decrease in violent crime around the Phoenix area in 2007 and some observers believe it's the result of illegal aliens leaving Arizona for other states, such as Texas.

Based on data from 18 jurisdictions in metro Phoenix, violent crimes and property crimes both decreased 0.3 percent.

The city of Phoenix saw the same decrease in total crimes as the overall area, with a 0.3 percent decrease in total violent crimes and a 0.3 percent decrease in total property crimes.

Texas had over 1,000 more violent crimes, while violent crimes in Arizona dropped by over 750. Some attribute the drop to Arizona's Employer Sanction's Law. The bill's author, State Rep. Russell Pearce, said the numbers don't surprise him.

"It's a direct correlation," said Pearce. "As our numbers decrease in the area of illegal aliens, you will see the violent crime rate decrease."

The only community in the state that showed an increase in violent crime was Mesa. Rep. Pearce thinks that is due to the reluctance of Police Chief Gascon to enforce immigration laws.

"We have a police chief who has ignored his responsibilities to do his job," said Pierce.

The FBI says Paradise Valley had the greatest decrease in total violent crimes of any metro Phoenix jurisdiction - down 50 percent from 2006 to 2007. The jurisdiction did see a 3.2 percent increase in total property crimes.

About half of the Phoenix-area jurisdictions included in the data saw an increase in reported crime from 2006 to 2007.

Home invasions skyrocket in Arizona - Protect your family!

The number of home invasions in Phoenix have doubled from this time last year, police said.

One Phoenix family who found themselves a random victim described the ordeal as a nightmare.

"I was coming in our RV gate about one o'clock in the morning and they asked for a phone book to call a taxi cab," said Steve Locke.

Locke said he fell for the bait and within seconds three men were inside the family's home.

The invaders tied up the Locke family, forced them to the ground with pillow cases over their head, ransacked their home stealing valuables and even took the family's dog, police said.

"I was scared to death," Locke said. "I just wanted to live. I thought we were going to die.

Police said in the past three months there have been 122 home invasions, amounting to more than one a day. Investigators said that's double normally seen this time of year.

Phoenix police have set up a task force to handle the case loads.

"If you look at it, it's really all around the city," said Lt. Laurie Burgett of the Phoenix Police Department.

Police said they believe multiple groups could be involved. They said while many of the victims are involved in criminal activity, the Lockes were innocent targets.

"They appear to be true victims," Burgett said.

Random victims no longer feel safe in their own home.

"It has completely changed our lives," Locke said. "We don't come and go like we used. We're in before dark. We lock the gates and the doors. Everything has changed."

The family said they are still searching for their blue pitbull.

Police cautioned residents to pay careful attention to their surroundings and notify police dispatchers of suspicious activity.

This is surely due to the horrible economic times we are in, however, that doesn't help the victims of these terrible crimes. It's sad to say, but you can't talk to strangers anymore, meaning you can't trust people these days. You have to use your own judgement and always be alert. It's hard to try and think that everyone is a criminal, but these are the times we live in. Protect yourself and your family, buy a firearm and learn how to use it correctly.

Here are a couple of great links for people who want to protect themselves and their families:

Glock

Ruger

Foreclosures 44 percent of Phoenix Home Sales according to ASU

That's a two percent increase from July and more than double the 20 percent of sales recorded in August 2007.

Sales of foreclosed homes in the metro Phoenix area made up nearly half of all existing homes sold in the area last month, a new study shows.

Of the 7,505 resale home transactions recorded in Maricopa County in August, 44 percent were bought out of foreclosures, according to the Realty Studies department at Arizona State University. That's a two percent increase from July and more than double the 20 percent of sales recorded in August 2007.

There's no end in sight for the housing market slump, according to the director of Realty Studies at ASU's Polytechnic campus in east Mesa.

``Most potential buyers still confront a weak economy, slumping levels of confidence and tighter underwriting guidelines,'' Jay Butler said. ``Thus, the local housing market still contains considerable uncertainty over when any potential strengthening can be expected.''

The federal government takeover of the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) has driving mortgage prices down, bad economic news is keeping buyer sentiment low, Butler said.

The median price of a home bought out of foreclosure in August was $161,875, compared with a non-foreclosure price of $193,550. A year ago the median prices were $220,010 and $258,000 respectively.

Prices varied widely by location. In North Scottsdale, the median price in August for a foreclosed property was $545,000, while the traditional market was $525,000. In South Scottsdale the splits were $219,855 and $242,000, respectively. In Maryvale, traditional transactions were $98,000 and foreclosures were $123,580.

The steep drop in prices is beginning to bring out investors expecting to see prices rebound in the next few years, Butler said.

Interest is especially high in the lower-priced ranges because more capital is available for those homes, he said.

Detention officer, Clayton Darnell Buycks, arrested for sexual assault on female inmate

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio says a detention officer employed by the office for five years, was booked Tuesday on charges of sexual assault and kidnapping and immediately placed on administrative leave with pay.

Clayton Darnell Buycks, 28, allegedly fondled a female inmate in the elevator of the East Courthouse in downtown Phoenix late last month while she was being transported to court to face drug charges.

The inmate was apparently handcuffed at the time of the assault resulting in the kidnapping charge.

Pot bust at Phoenix hotel

Three people are in custody after an early morning pot bust at a Phoenix hotel.
About 30 lbs. of pot

According to the Phoenix Police Department, security guards at the Inn Town Suites at 51st Avenue and Interstate 10 noticed a suspcious odor emanating from one of the hotel rooms at about 3:30 a.m. Friday.

While talking the three people inside the room, the guards spotted what appeared to be several small bales of marjuana. After a short struggle, guards were able to detain the trio until police arrived.

According to Det. Marysol Larrison of the Phoenix Police Department, officers discovered about 30 pounds of pot and $2,000 in cash, as well as miscellaneous drug paraphenalia inside the hotel room.

The three individuals were taken into police custody and investigators from the drug enforcement bureau were called in.

Police are not releasing any information about the suspects at this time.

Foreclosure filings across the nation grew by more than 50 percent in July

Foreclosure filings across the nation grew by more than 50 percent in July, compared with the same month a year ago, according to data released Thursday, August 14th, 2008.

Arizona ranked fourth among the states in foreclosures, the RealtyTrac report said.

Nationwide, more than 272,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July, up 55 percent from about 175,000 in the same month last year and up 8 percent from June. One in every 464 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing last month.

One West Valley woman finds herself too close to the story.

Rosa Garcia, a single mother of two, was looking for a life away from the hustle and bustle of Phoenix when she fell in love with a brand new home in Buckeye two years ago.

It was easy to buy.

"I was like, "Oh, a piece of cake. I'm in a bigger home and I'm in a better place. For the price I was paying, it was awesome."

Two years later, she's still fond of the neighborhood, but said she must leave.

"Everybody in our community kind of knows each other. My kids have built a lot of friends there. They're sad, they don't want to move, they don't want to lose the house."

Garcia's payments have gone from $1,200 a month to more than $1,700 and now she can't make ends meet.

She admits she had no clue about the fine details of adjustable rate financing when she got her mortgage. She urges other people not to make the same mistake -- to make sure they know the consequences of what they're signing.

"And try to buy something that you need, not something that you want. Houses are beautiful nowadays, they look so beautiful and everything, but sometimes beautiful becomes very expensive."

Garcia said, "I can't take my kids out anymore because I'm on a strict budget. There's no fun times. I don't feel free. I can't be going out with my friends because of the money issue."

Garcia said she may be forced to leave her home this fall.

"I have to come to realize that, right now, the house is not work what I am paying and it's a big sacrifice. It makes me feel like I work just to pay for the house."

Although this is a sad story and one of many, people must know how to budget and make ends meet in good times as well as bad. I'll be the first to say that yes, many loan companies are to blame for this horrible housing market, however, it all goes back to the age old saying of "if something looks to good to be true, then it probably is". It doesn't make sense that someone can get into a $250k home when they could barely make their apartment rent of $700 a month.

I don't see this market turning around until a few more years. There is still a lot of great deals to be had, but for every awesome deal, there will be with that a sad story like the one above. Please read your contracts and make sure you completely understand them!

Arizona announces $6M settlement with Honeywell

Arizona: Honeywell to pay $6M to settle environmental suit over alleged violations in Phoenix.

It was announced Thursday that Honeywell International has agreed to pay the state of Arizona $5 million to settle an environmental lawsuit.

Attorney General Terry Goddard says the civil penalty is for hazardous waste and environmental cleanup violations at a Honeywell facility near Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

Goddard says Honeywell also will pay another $1 million for a supplemental environmental project.

The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by the state against Honeywell in July 2004 alleging a number of environmental violations spanning more than 30 years.

The lawsuit alleged that between 1974 and 2004 Honeywell violated numerous environmental laws, including the Arizona Water Quality Control Act, Arizona Hazardous Waste Disposal Act and Arizona Underground Storage Tank Act.

UPDATE: Additional arrests have been made in the prostitution bust

UPDATE: Additional arrests have been made in the case.

Another key player in the organization was taken in custody Wednesday night.

Charges against Sean Carter, 39, could include conspiracy to control an illegal enterprise; illegal control of an enterprise; first degree money laundering; operating a house of prostitution; employee at a house of prostitution; pandering; receiving the earnings of a prostitute; use of a wire or electronic communication; prostitution.

Five other escorts were taken into custody. Their charges include illegal participation of an enterprise, second degree money laundering and employee at a house of prostitution.

Five in custody in early morning Arizona home invasions

Five suspects are in custody after a pair of home invasions that took place early this morning. One suspect stabbed was stabbed.

It happened shortly after 3:30 a.m. in the neighborhood of 15th Avenue and Alta Vista, which is just south of Southern Avenue.

The investigation revealed the suspects knocked on the homeowner's door and after the door opened the suspects displayed their weapons and began making demands. A fight then broke out between the homeowner and the suspects.

According to Lt. Greg Berghorst of the Phoenix Police Department, officers on the scene recovered a variety of weapons, including two semi-automatic handguns and a shotgun. Police said that in trying to elude officers, the suspects broke into a third home.

There were seven people, including small children inside the first home that was broken into. Police, who were initally responding to a check welfare call, arrested a man and a woman there. Three other suspects, all of whom were armed, ran out the back door and got away, Berghorst said.

Officers set up a perimeter and called for backup. Air units and K9 units responded and those three were caught.

While one of the suspects was stabbed -- it's not clear how he was wounded -- none of the families who live in the homes were hurt.

Police do not know what the suspects were after when they broke into the first two houses. Investigators are trying to determine if the suspects are involved in any other criminal activity.

A sign of the times? Maybe...but I say everyone should have some form of protection in their homes! With the economy so terrible, I feel we shall see more of this type of crime. Sadly, the police are always under staffed and have so much to deal with.

Who's watching you? TLO information

Terrorism Liasion Officers are often non-law enforcement people, like firefighters, who are asked to report suspicious behavior.

Arizona is in the forefront of the fight against terrorism with one of its major tools: the Terrorism Liaison Officer (TLO).

TLOs are usually non-law enforcement people such as firefighters and paramedics who receive about 40 hours of training in order to report suspicious behavior in the course of their jobs to the Arizona Counter-Terrorism Information Center (ACTIC). Those reports are put in the state database for further investigation, and could be sent to federal terrorist databases.

"Arizona was one of the first states to establish a TLO program," said Lieutenant Larry Perry of ACTIC. He said there are 200 TLOs trained in the state to provide reports on suspicious behavior, which are then investigated, and potentially forwarded to federal authorities. He believes it's an important information resource in the fight against terrorism, but not everyone agrees.

"It's a serious privacy threat to normal American citizens who aren't accused of any crime." said John Verdi of the Electronic Privacy Center.

Verdi said that suspicious activity can be anything from taking a picture of a downtown building to expressing anti-government sentiments, or even wearing blue jeans.

"We don't want to discourage the public sending this information in, because that one [piece of] information they send in could be that one lead we are looking for," said Lt. Perry.

Web site 8signs.org descirbes what's considered to be suspicious behavior and provides information on how to report it.