Connecting US Cities » State Of Arizona

ASU parking attendant attacked with a Slurpee

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 16:47:10 +0000

While issuing tickets at the       According to a police report
west side campus of Arizona        obtained by abc15.com,
State University, a parking        (http://bit.ly/wNRBtK), the
attendant was assaulted with       attendant is repeatedly
a freezing cold Slurpee.           harassed by people who park
The female attendant, who          illegally.
also attends ASU, told campus      The attendant believes the
police the assault occurred        people who tossed the Slurpee
Jan. 23 when a group of men        are not students. So far, no
cussed her out and one of          one has been arrested.
them tossed the drink.

Glendale sees rise in police overtime

admin — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:11:31 +0000

A spike in high-profile            function of the emergency
crimes in Glendale has led to      nature of the services police
an uptick in police overtime       provide," said Rob Worden, a
spending.                          criminal-justice professor at
Seven months into the fiscal       the State University of New
year, Glendale police have         York who has studied police
spent nearly three-quarters        overtime use.
of the $1.2 million budgeted       But as cities across the
for overtime.                      nation see budget cuts,
By comparison, the department      officials are more likely to
was under budget the prior         question the spending and try
two years; spending just shy       to find ways to limit it,
of $1 million in fiscal year       said Worden, director of the
2009-10 and nearly $1.2            Albany campus' John F. Finn
million last fiscal year.          Institute for Public Safety.
Police had spent $876,000 on       Part of Glendale's challenge
overtime through January.          is that the department is
This excludes overtime paid        working with fewer officers.
during Phoenix Coyotes and         In 2008, the city had about
Arizona Cardinals games.           425 officers. That number has
Police spokesman Sgt. Brent        fallen to about 400 as
Coombs said police leaders         vacancies have gone unfilled.
would use funds from other         Police avoid some overtime by
parts of the department's          overlapping shifts so that
budget, for supplies and           officers can more seamlessly
contracts, if the overtime         hand off duties from one
costs continue to exceed what      shift to the next without
has been allocated.                requiring an officer to stay
Police say big cases,              later and accrue overtime.
including the disappearance        Also, Coombs said, the
of 5-year-old Jhessye              department is less likely
Shockley and the shooting          than in the past to deploy
death of Glendale Officer          multiple detectives without a
Brad Jones, contributed to         clearly assessed need.
this year's costs.                 The on-call investigations
Dozens of officers canvassed       supervisor must now give
Jhessye's neighborhood in the      approval before calling
days after her disappearance       detectives to leave home and
and numerous detectives,           respond to a crime scene.
crime-scene technicians and        At least once a year, police
internal-affairs                   leaders refine the criteria
investigators were required        for overtime callouts. They
to assist after Jones was          consider crime trends, too.
murdered and his accused           Some law-enforcement agencies
killer was seriously wounded       have switched police
by officers.                       schedules to reduce overtime
Police next week will begin        costs and ensure officers are
to search a landfill south of      working when crimes are most
the Valley for the girl's          likely to happen.
body. Such searches can be         In 2010, Glendale added a
costly. Glendale police have       squad of night detectives.
so far been unable to offer        The move has helped police
an estimate, but a police          avoid the cost of calling a
spokeswoman said the               detective to come in to work
department would try to avoid      overtime in at least some
overtime in the search that        cases and helped foster
is expected to last four to        stronger partnerships between
six weeks.                         detectives and patrol
Along with the labor-              officers who work the night
intensive search for Jhessye,      shift, Coombs said.
a spike in homicides late in       Glendale officers work four
the year increased overtime        10-hour shifts each week,
payouts.                           which one expert said appears
Police say such costs aren't       to be most conducive to
optional.                          saving on overtime.
The department's central           Karen L. Amendola, with the
mission is to answer calls         Washington, D.C.-based Police
from residents in need of          Foundation, recently
help and sometimes that            researched the length of
requires specialized               police shifts and found
resources, Coombs said.            cities that switch to 10-hour
"There are always those            shifts save the most on
situations that may not fit        overtime.
into a perfect 10-hour day,        Longer hours, such as the
and there is expertise             three-day, 13-hour, 20-minute
required at times that can't       shift being piloted in a
be fulfilled by every single       Phoenix precinct, don't
(officer) on the job," he          necessarily translate into
said.                              fewer costs, she said.
Law-enforcement experts say        Amendola said officers who
police overtime can be hard        work longer than 10 hours
to predict.                        report feeling more fatigued
"Police overtime is a              and less alert.

Man in argument killed in Mesa shooting Monday night

admin — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:08:59 +0000

A man was shot and killed in       Avenue and Broadway Road. An
Mesa on Monday night in an         argument ensued, and the
argument with another man.         original driver took out a
Two men who are believed to        gun and shot one of the other
be brothers were walking           men once.
south on Sunnyvale around          The victim was taken to a
6:30 p.m. from Broadway Road       local hospital, where he
when they were confronted by       later died of the gunshot
a man driving north, Mesa          wound. The other men were not
Police Department spokesman        hurt.
Sgt. Ed Wessing said. He gave      Mesa police believe the men
this account:                      knew each other and are
The men exchanged words with       searching for the gunman,
the driver and at one point,       Wessing said.
the driver threw something         No names have been released
from the car in their              and more details are expected
direction.                         to be released Tuesday
Shortly afterward, a friend        morning.
picked the two men up and          Check back at azcentral.com
they found the original            for updates.
driver's car near Calypso

2 Arizona lawmakers aim for bill vs. toll evaders

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:11:51 +0000

Arizona has no toll roads,         authorize private contractors
but that hasn't stopped a          to collect tolls, something
pair of state lawmakers from       overlooked by existing law.
introducing a bill that,           It also would eliminate a
among other things, would let      provision allowing motorists
the state impound the cars or      who pay tolls to seek
suspend the licenses of toll       reimbursement of fuel taxes;
evaders.                           that had been approved at the
Republican state Reps. Karen       behest of the trucking
Fann of Prescott and Russ          industry.
Jones of Yuma introduced the       The changes are needed to
bill to fix an existing law        avoid scaring investors away,
that green-lighted the             Jones and ADOT officials said.
Arizona Department of              The ability to crack down on
Transportation to team up          toll evaders would help
with private firms on              ensure revenue collection.
projects such as toll roads.       The bill comes as state and
Lawmakers and ADOT wanted to       regional transportation
tap private funds because          planners are weighing several
state transportation funds         possible toll projects.
have been declining. But in        Projects under consideration
the three years since the law      include a stretch of
took effect, no takers from        Interstate 15 in the remote
the private sector have            northwestern corner of the
stepped forward.                   state; Interstate 10 carpool
The bill is intended to make       lanes and a proposed new
changes to improve prospects       truck bypass route around
for public-private                 Nogales.
partnerships. It would

Burke of Fast and Furious had anti-gun history

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:23:09 +0000

The career path of former U.S.     From the beginning, there
Attorney Dennis Burke can be       were huge controversies:
charted through an ascending       Senate Bill 1070, Arizona's
string of jobs from Arizona's      anti-immigration law, was
Supreme Court to the U.S.          under challenge in court. The
Senate, White House,               Maricopa County Sheriff's
Department of Homeland             Office was being investigated
Security and Justice               for alleged civil-rights
Department.                        violations. Border security
It is a resume that spans          had become a political
more than two decades in           firefight, with Arizona as a
three branches of government.      funnel point for smuggling
Then, suddenly, it nose-dives      amid growing fear that
on Aug. 30, 2011, when Burke       Mexican violence would spill
resigned as U.S. attorney          onto U.S. soil.
amid a scandal over a gun-         Authorities in both nations
smuggling case known as            were blaming liberal U.S. gun
Operation Fast and Furious.        laws for arming the cartels.
Since that day, the                The assault-weapons law had
gregarious public servant has      expired in 2004. Restoration
gone silent, and nearly            of the statute had been on
invisible, except that his         Obama's platform, and Burke
name appears prominently in        was among the public
Justice Department documents,      adherents.
congressional hearings and         During a news conference in
news reports.                      2010, Burke complained that
Burke's political downfall         scores of guns from Arizona
may have been shocking, but        were being recovered in
an   Arizona Republic              Mexico. "We have a huge
analysis of his career             problem here. We have now
suggests that the cause --         become the gun locker of the
firearm politics -- has been       Mexican drug cartels." What
a pet theme through most of        Burke did not mention was
his 23 years in government.        that his prosecutors had
The end came after federal         allegedly instructed ATF
records and testimony              agents to let some of those
revealed that Burke last year      weapons "walk" across the
pressed colleagues and             border.
superiors to deny that the         In fact, just one month after
Justice Department knowingly       Burke's appointment as U.S.
allowed guns to be smuggled        attorney was confirmed by the
into Mexico under his watch,       Senate, Operation Fast and
and that two of those weapons      Furious was secretly launched
wound up at the murder scene       in Arizona.
of a U.S. Border Patrol agent.     According to congressional
In e-mail exchanges with DOJ       testimony and DOJ records,
officials, Burke incorrectly       the idea was to follow the
described allegations about        firearms south so that drug
Fast and Furious by Sen.           lords who received them could
Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, as       be identified and prosecuted.
"categorically false." He          Over a two-year period,
also reviled congressional         smugglers moved as many as 1,
investigators as "stooges"         400 weapons across the border.
for gun-rights zealots.            The problem: Those AK-47s and
Burke finally quit his post        .50-caliber rifles were being
after testifying in secret to      used for mayhem in Mexico,
congressional investigators        and U.S. investigators had
about the case.                    not devised a successful way
He was not the only federal        to track them.
official to suffer fallout.        Agent Terry's death  Burke's
At the Bureau of Alcohol,          supporters question whether
Tobacco, Firearms and              he understood that the ATF
Explosives, national Director      strategy knowingly let guns
Kenneth Melson was reassigned      into Mexico, but critics say
and Arizona's top agent,           e-mails and other Justice
William Newell, was                Department records indicate
transferred. On Capitol Hill,      he knew exactly what was
Grassley called for the            going on.
removal of Lanny Breuer,           For example, an ATF memo in
second in command of the           January 2010 says Burke was
Justice Department, and many       briefed in detail on Fast and
in Congress have said              Furious and expressed "full
Attorney General Eric Holder       agreement" with a strategy
should be fired.                   allowing "the transfer of
But, of all the officials          firearms to continue to take
caught up in America's so-         place ... in order to further
called "gun-walking" scandal,      the investigation and allow
Dennis Kiernan Burke is the        for the identification of
only one to lose his job.          additional co-conspirators."
A resignation letter to            In an April 2010 e-mail to a
President Barack Obama said        colleague, Burke predicted
simply, "It is the right time      that the operation would have
to move on to pursue other         a huge public impact: "It's
aspects of my career and my        going to bring a lot of
life."                             attention to straw purchasers
The question: Has he hit           of assault weapons," he wrote.
bottom yet, and can he rise        "Some of these weapons bought
again?                             by these clowns in Arizona
'A stand-up guy'  Since            have been directly traced to
leaving his skyscraper office      murders of elected officials
in downtown Phoenix, Burke         in Mexico by the cartels, so
has turned down all interview      Katie-bar-the-door when we
requests, leaving his lawyers      unveil this baby."
to describe him as a "stand-       However, available Justice
up guy" who didn't                 Department documents do not
intentionally mislead              include any record where
Congress or the public.            Burke explicitly acknowledged
An inspector general probe is      an awareness of the gun-
still under way, as well as        walking strategy, and it is
congressional investigations.      unclear whether he believed a
Friends say Burke, who had         furor would result because of
been touted as a possible          the investigative tactic, or
candidate for governor or          because so many U.S. firearms
Congress, is lying low,            were responsible for Mexico's
volunteering full time with a      cartel bloodshed.
rape-crisis network and            At least some ATF agents
playing golf. All of them          bristled at the ATF operation,
speak of him with glowing          warning of potentially fatal
adjectives: articulate,            consequences. Those
positive, hardworking, decent,     predictions proved true on
funny, loyal.                      Dec. 14, 2010, when Border
"He doesn't have enemies,"         Patrol Agent Brian Terry was
said Robbie Aiken, a longtime      killed in a midnight shootout
friend and vice president for      with bandits near Nogales.
federal affairs with Pinnacle      Within hours, Burke was
West Capital Corp. "All the        notified that two guns found
things he's done, yet I've         at the scene were linked to
never really heard anybody         Fast and Furious.
say anything negative about        A man, who bought them 11
him."                              months earlier at a Glendale
But there are critics,             firearms store, was promptly
especially among staunch           arrested on suspicion of
Second Amendment advocates,        illegal-weapons purchases,
who paint Burke as a liberal       along with other gun-buy
apparatchik who was willing        suspects. Yet, at a news
to let criminals move weapons      conference announcing the
to Mexican cartels if it           busts, federal officials
would help justify new             failed to reveal the link
firearms restrictions.             with Terry's death and denied
"It's no coincidence that          that guns had been allowed to
Dennis Burke, a longtime anti-     "walk" as part of the case.
gun policy person, was made U.     ATF agents, horrified at what
S. Attorney in mid-2009 ...        happened, became whistle-
the same month (sic) that          blowers, leaking information
Fast and Furious begins,"          to Congress. Last January,
said Mike Vanderboegh, a gun-      Sen. Grassley sent letters to
rights blogger. "They picked       ATF, alleging that the bureau
precisely the right guy to         had knowingly allowed guns
run a clandestine program."        into the hands of Mexican
(The operation began a month       criminals and that two of
after Burke's appointment was      those weapons were tied to
confirmed.)                        Terry's murder. Burke reacted
Curiously, the supporters and      by sending e-mails to DOJ
detractors agree on one            colleagues denouncing the
point: They say Burke became       senator's assertions as
a scapegoat to protect higher      "categorical falsehoods."
officials in the Justice           In early messages to DOJ
Department or White House.         superiors, he incorrectly
Dave Workman, a gun-rights         claimed weapons found at the
blogger, described Burke as        murder scene were purchased
"the chief sacrificial lamb."      before Fast and Furious
Sen. Grassley, in an October       started. Later, he clarified
statement, said: "Mr. Burke        that although Fast and
is to be commended, to some        Furious was under way, the
extent, for being the only         buyer was not being
person to resign and take          surveilled at the time he
responsibility for the failed      bought them.
operation. Of course, I do         Bitter denunciations  On Feb.
not believe he should feel         1,  The    Republic
obligated to be the only fall      published the first
guy."                              mainstream news story on the
Phoenix attorney Andy Gordon,      gun-running scandal and about
a close friend for nearly two      a congressional inquiry into
decades, said Burke may be         Fast and Furious.
loyal to a fault, protecting       Burke e-mailed a top Justice
higher-ups in the Justice          Department official,
Department. "DOJ threw him         complaining about the bad
under the bus. That's my view,     publicity and about
" Gordon said.                     Grassley's letter. "They
Another friend, attorney Tim       (ATF) got smoked today in the
Nelson, said: "I don't know        Arizona Republic  . Just
the workings of the Obama          smoked," he wrote. "They
administration, whether they       punted going on the record to
were looking for a fall guy        deny completely fabricated
or what. But it certainly          assertions that cut at the
looks that way."                   heart of their agency and the
Whether those evaluations are      mission of law enforcement."
valid or not, associates           ATF and Justice officials
agree Burke was devastated to      spent three days arguing over
lose a dream job and see his       language for a rebuttal to
reputation tainted by scandal.     Grassley's letter. Burke, who
Kevin Burke, an older brother      wanted a hard-line denial,
who serves as a county judge       complained bitterly to
in Minnesota, said Dennis is       colleagues: "What is so
focused on defending himself       offensive about this whole
as investigations continue.        project is that Grassley's
"He's certainly bummed,"           staff, acting as willing
Judge Burke said. "You want        stooges for the Gun Lobby,
people to understand what you      have attempted to distract
did and why you did it."           from the incredible success
Asked if Dennis privately          in dismantling SWB (Southwest
admits to making mistakes,         Border) gun trafficking
Kevin answered, "I can             operations," he wrote. "Not
categorically deny that. The       uttering one word of rightful
idea that he is going around       praise or thanks to ATF --
saying, 'Boy, I really             but, instead, lobbing this
screwed up'? He's never told       reckless, despicable
me that."                          accusation that ATF is
Strong work ethic and ambition     complicit in the murder of a
Since Dennis Burke got his         federal law enforcement
law degree at the University       officer."
of Arizona in 1988, he has         In another missive, Burke
flourished in high-profile         wrote, "I am so personally
government jobs, handling          outraged by Senator
politicians, journalists,          Grassley's falsehoods. It is
lobbyists and lawyers with         one of the lowest acts I have
aplomb.                            ever seen in politics."
Born in 1962 in Chicago, the       DOJ eventually issued a
last of five children in an        letter denouncing Grassley's
Irish-Catholic home, Burke         allegations about Fast and
once credited his immigrant        Furious as "false."
grandfather with instilling a      Holder has since acknowledged
work ethic to match ambitions.     that the senator's assertions
When Dennis was just a boy,        were true, and that Fast and
the family moved to Phoenix,       Furious was a flawed
where he attended Catholic         operation. Spurred by those
schools. (As an adult, he          admissions, congressional
once said his life motto was       investigators redoubled their
"Love your neighbor as you do      efforts, digging up more
yourself" because "several         records and questioning
nuns beat that into my head        witnesses under oath. This
in grade school.")                 past summer, Burke was called
After graduation from Brophy       before congressional
College Preparatory, Burke         investigators for two closed-
earned a bachelor's degree at      door interviews.
Georgetown University and got      According to subsequently
an early taste of national         released excerpts, Burke
politics by serving as an          acknowledged mistakes and
intern for U.S. Rep. Martin        accepted blame. "It should
Sabo, D-Minn.                      not have been done the way it
"He was kind of bitten by the      was done," he said, "and I
Hill bug," said Kevin Burke,       want to take responsibility
who is president of the            for that. And I'm not falling
American Judges Association.       on my sword or trying to
Former Sen. Dennis DeConcini,      cover for anyone else."
D-Ariz., who hired Burke from      Motives debated  Attorneys
law school as a congressional      Lee Stein and Chuck Rosenberg,
intern, said the student           who represent Burke, said
stood out for legal smarts         their client did not
and people skills. "Just           intentionally provide false
really bright," DeConcini          information to colleagues and
said, "and he was good with        superiors in the Justice
Republicans."                      Department.
Fresh out of law school,           "Dennis has cooperated with
Burke won a coveted position       congressional investigators
as clerk with the Arizona          and the (Justice)
Supreme Court under Justice        Department's inquiry into
James Moeller.                     this matter," Stein said. "He
Then, in 1989, he was hired        takes his public service
as a low-level staff lawyer        seriously."
at the U.S. Senate. Within a       Critics say the constellation
year -- at age 27 -- Burke         of facts points to Burke as a
was assigned to the Judiciary      ramrod behind Fast and
Committee, eventually playing      Furious, working to provide
a behind-the-scenes role in        political powder for more
confirmation proceedings for       firearm regulations.
three Supreme Court justices.      In a Dec. 18 post, Second
And he began working on gun        Amendment blogger John
control. DeConcini said Burke      Richardson wrote: "Looking at
helped draft the Anti-Drug         Burke's background and his
Assault Weapons Limitation         attitude towards gun rights
Act of 1989. A five-year           and those who support them, I
battle ensued, ending with         see this as even further
President Bill Clinton             confirmation that the intent
signing the Violent Crime          of Operation Fast and Furious
Control and Law Enforcement        from the very beginning was
Act of 1994, which made it a       to build support for another
federal offense to possess         so-called assault-weapons ban.
certain semiautomatic rifles       I just don't think it was
manufactured after the law's       coincidental that Operation
passage.                           Fast and Furious was centered
DeConcini said Burke fostered      in Arizona."
the measure in concert with a      DeConcini, who has sought to
key figure in the White House,     help Burke behind the scenes
policy analyst Rahm Emanuel,       with members of Congress,
who years later would become       said such inferences are
chief of staff for President       "totally unfair," and he
Obama. Emanuel now is mayor        insisted that Burke did not
of Chicago.                        learn of the gun-walking
"Dennis was the one who            strategy until after Brian
worked with everyone on the        Terry's death.
Judiciary Committee to line        Kevin Burke said it is absurd
up these members and votes,"       to suggest that his brother
DeConcini said. "Dennis had        came up with some
all these pictures of these        "Machiavellian plan" to
guns -- the Streetsweepers         justify gun-control measures.
and the AK-47s. And it passed      He said Dennis was dedicated
by one vote. A lot of it was       to stopping firearm deaths --
not   my eloquence on the          not adding to them -- and he
bill, it was stuff that            would never have risked lives
Dennis had done."                  or his career on such a
The law was adopted shortly        gambit.
before Burke left his Senate       David Steele, a political
job for a position in the          consultant and friend,
Clinton White House as a           agreed: "The Dennis Burke I
senior policy analyst for law      know doesn't engage in that
enforcement and drug issues,       kind of political
again working with Emanuel.        triangulation," he said. "The
According to preserved e-          whole notion that he did this
mails, Burke continued             as a conspiracy for gun
handling firearm issues,           control is laughable."
discussing whether executive       Epilogue  Investigations by
orders could be used to            Congress and the inspector
extend the Brady Handgun           general are ongoing.
Violence Protection Act            Guns from Fast and Furious
requirement for background         continue to surface at crimes
checks.                            scenes in Mexico and the
In 1997, Burke became a            United States.
federal prosecutor under U.S.      The case against those
Attorney Janet Napolitano,         accused of killing Brian
getting firsthand experience       Terry is sealed in federal
with Mexican syndicates that       court.
were smuggling narcotics and       And Dennis Burke remains
firearms. In an interview          under a cloud.
that year with the   Arizona       His attorney Stein said the
Business Gazette  , he             experience has been "sobering,
identified earlier gun-            " but Burke keeps busy
regulation efforts as the          volunteering with a rape-
most fulfilling professional       crisis network. "He's really
assignment he'd undertaken.        been using this time to
Over the next decade, he           reconnect with family and
served as a chief deputy to        friends, and to try to get
Napolitano as she became           through all this and decide
Arizona attorney general,          what he'll do with the rest
governor and then director of      of his life," Stein said.
Homeland Security, where he        Other friends say he
again dealt with gun-running       understands how scandals work
into Mexico.                       in the nation's capital.
Fast and Furious launched  On      "It's a tough town," said
July 10, 2009, President           Aiken, who worked in the
Obama named Burke as his           Reagan administration.
nominee for U.S. attorney for      "Dennis knows that. He's a
Arizona. He was confirmed by       tough guy. And I suspect
unanimous consent in the           he'll come out of this A-OK.
Senate on Sept. 15 of that         (But) I don't think he was
year.                              treated altogether fairly."

Widower writes his way through sadness

admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 09:03:21 +0000

It has been nearly two years       should."
since Leigh Ann Tonkinson, 35,     Tonkinson is also speaking
died after being struck by a       about grief at seminars and
speeding car while sitting at      churches and said he wants
a stoplight at Greenfield and      something he can hand to
Germann in Gilbert as she was      people who approach him
coming home from work to her       afterwards with stories and
husband and three children.        queries.
The March 6, 2010, crash took      "It has been amazing the
her life and that of the 20-       doors that have opened," he
year-old driver who rear-          said. "I'm excited and
ended her.                         nervous because whenever you
Wracked with grief, her            put something out about
husband, Greg, also had three      yourselves, there's always a
young children to comfort --       risk factor."
sons Caden and Bailey, and         His early postings on his
daughter Malia, then ages 10,      Blogspot "Informings" are as
5 and 4, respectively, who         heart-wrenching to read as
often cried themselves to          they were for him to write.
sleep.                             He begins March 7, 'Day 0',
Tonkinson, an ASU grad,            six hours after the life-
teacher and Bible department       changing knock on the door by
chair at Chandler's Valley         Gilbert police.
Christian High School with a       That first entry reads, "At
masters in divinity, took to       around 8:30 tonight, my life,
writing to assuage his loss.       my love, my wife, passed away.
The Gilbert man started a          Sudden car accident, so I'm
blog the morning after his         told. 1:13 a.m. and I'm awake
wife's death.                      but dead. I can't believe I'm
"I started writing it as a         writing these words."
catharsis, but also for my         There follows the struggles,
children. I knew there'd be        remembrances and joys his
times I wouldn't remember          family shared, the week of
what I was feeling, what was       the funeral, the six-month
happening. So I decided to         mark, the first Christmas,
journal what I was dealing         other holidays, and even the
with," Tonkinson said.             first vacation without Leigh
Laying out his angst, he           Ann.
wrote of pain but also "the        He noted that May 6, 2010,
strength and encouragement"        would have been his
his faith provided him.            14{+t}{+h} wedding
"The blog started out pretty       anniversary: "One moment I
small -- comments from             can give God thanks for the
friends and family. But then       blessings and the very next,
I started getting more             my heart is being filleted
responses from strangers and       open for the thousandth time."
others experiencing grief,"        Reading the entries from Day
he recalled. "There were           0 onward is a map of the
hundreds of people I'd never       journey from tragedy to
met and we were able to            overcoming; yet as time moved
connect on such a deep level."     on.
Because so many people             He ended writing his blog on
responded to his journal, and      Day 413, Easter Sunday, April
others encouraged him to           24, 2011.
publish the entries in print,      "by God's grace, and the
Tonkinson is co-authoring a        endless support from family
book.                              and friends, the kids and I
"I'm not nave enough to think      have accepted our new life.
you can take a journal, bind       We're laughing more than
it and put it up for sale.         we're crying, and we're
Within the next few months, I      focused on what's before us
hope to have a body of work        and now what we lost. Leigh
to take to agents or               Ann will never be forgotten ..
publishers. This isn't             ."
something I set out to do,         To view: see gregtonkinson.
but I feel because of the          blogspot.com
responses I'm getting, I

Tennessee man suspected in threat on Arpaio

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:11:25 +0000

Tennessee authorities              officials, Cox's postings
arrested a man Friday who is       indicate he is an avid
suspected of posting an            supporter of President Barack
Internet death threat against      Obama and that the threat may
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe        have been sparked by Arpaio's
Arpaio.                            ongoing investigation into
Working with Arpaio's office,      the legitimacy of Obama's
Knox County, Tenn., sheriff's      birth certificate.
deputies seized computer and       "I will not be intimidated
other evidence while serving       against pursuing this
a search warrant at the            investigation into Obama's
Knoxville home of 33-year-old      eligibility to serve as the
Adam Eugene Cox, according to      President of the United
the Maricopa County Sheriff's      States," Arpaio said in a
Office.                            Friday news release.
Authorities said Cox was           Maricopa County sheriff's
taken into custody on an           deputies previously traveled
unrelated warrant for assault,     to Google's headquarters in
and is being investigated as       California, where search
a suspect in an October            warrants were served
online threat that said            regarding that threat and
Arpaio and his family would        another against Arpaio after
be killed.                         the recent death of Deputy
According to local sheriff's       William Coleman.

Chandler man accused of biting son

admin — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:56:50 +0000

A Chandler man was arrested        by pushing his father back.
on suspicion of biting his         According to police reports,
son on the arm and ear in an       Karanja then tackled his son
argument about money, police       and bit his left forearm.
said.                              After his son got up, the
Stephen Kinyanjui Karanja, 50,     suspect grabbed him from
was booked on one charge of        behind and bit his ear before
assault after the incident,        letting him go, police said.
which occurred about 10:15 p.      A witness called a friend to
m. Wednesday in the backyard       take the victim to the
of his Chandler residence.         hospital. He only suffered
Karanja, who police documents      minor scrapes to the elbow in
identified as "extremely           addition to the bites.
intoxicated" at the time,          Karanja also had minor
slapped his son in the face        scrapes.
when they were arguing.            The suspect had a previous
Police documents say the           driving under the influence
suspect continued to slap and      conviction, police say.
punch his son, who retaliated

Man accused of pointing gun at son a detention officer

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:58:21 +0000

A 42-year-old Mesa man             son, according to Maricopa
arrested Tuesday on suspicion      County Superior Court
of threatening his 19-year-        documents. Higgins tried to
old son at gunpoint is a           leave in his truck. His son
Maricopa County Sheriff's          stepped in the way to stop
Office detention officer,          Higgins from leaving.
authorities said.                  Higgins is accused of then
Jeffrey Higgins was booked         pointing a gun at his son,
into jail Wednesday morning        getting in his truck and
on suspicion of aggravated         leaving, according to the
assault and criminal damage        documents. Higgins' wife
and held on a $25,000 bond.        called the police.
Higgins will be placed on          Higgins has a history of
administrative leave               threatening his son with guns
following his release from         but the incidents have gone
jail, according to a Maricopa      unreported, according to the
County Sheriff's Office            documents.
statement.                         Police later found Higgins in
The Mesa Police Department         his truck, with the gun on
said it suspects Higgins was       the seat, east of the docks
intoxicated at his home when       on Saguaro Lake.
he started arguing with his

MMA fighter accused of assault

admin — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 09:38:41 +0000

A mixed martial arts fighter       officer requested back-up at
was arrested on charges of         the home.
threatening a police officer       Officers spoke to Stark, but
and breaking his girlfriend's      he became angry because he
property.                          felt "disrespected." He
Keith Lucas Stark, 21, was         ignored officers' requests to
booked on charges of               calm down, so additional
aggravated assault and             officers were called.
criminal damage after police       At that point, Stark said
escorted his girlfriend to         that he was a mixed martial
their home, just east of the       arts fighter and that he was
U.S. 60 freeway and Lindsay        going to seriously harm the
Road, where police say Stark       officers. He then used
threatened officers.               several racial slurs.
An officer met the girlfriend      Officers detained Stark, but
at a nearby Circle K to            he managed to kick an officer
escort her to get her              in the knee before being
belongings. She told the           placed into a hobble.
officer that she had been          Another officer escorted his
living with Stark for about a      girlfriend into her room,
year and that she was 5            where she told officers Stark
months pregnant with his           broke her things, including a
child. She also told the           bracelet and a purse when she
officer that Stark is a mixed      tried to leave.
martial arts fighter, so the