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From the KATO Newsroom
William Perry - News Director

February 2007 Archive

Safford Police were called to the 700 block of Highway 70, Monday night, to a report of a vehicle that had tipped over on it's side, around 9:00pm.

A four-door sedan, traveling Westbound and driven by Michael Wade Henager, of Thatcher, flipped on it's side, hit a light pole, and ran into a parked car, Monday night.

Henager was slightly injured in the accident. He was taken to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center, complaining of pain to his shoulders, hand, head, and back.

The investigating Safford officer concluded that Henager was adjusting the controls to the CD player in his car when he drifted off the the right side of Highway 70.

He tried to get back into the right lane but over corrected his steering, causing his vehicle to jump the curb, hit a light pole, hit a concrete block and run into a parked car.

The drivers side front tire was sent through the drivers side window of the parked car.

Henager was cited for failure to control to avoid an accident.

       

A San Diego man was killed when he and a female passenger were involved in an accident on I-10, West of Benson, at around 8:00pm, last Thursday night.

According to a DPS report, Michael S. O'Brien was pulling a box trailer in his Toyota pickup when the trailer began to sway.

According to witnesses, the driver lost control and brought the Toyota pickup to a stop blocking both westbound lanes of I-10.

The trailer was on its side, but the pickup was upright and did not roll.

A tractor trailer semi rig was also westbound and did not see the pickup and the trailer in the middle of the freeway. The semi truck slammed into the pickup and trailer, ejecting O'Brien from the pickup.

O'Brien was killed at the scene. His passenger, Lisa J. Swanson, from El Cajon, Calif., had gotten out of the pickup before the accident happened and was not injured.

The driver of the semi was not injured.

The collision blocked the westbound lanes of I-10 for several hours as the contents of the box trailer were scattered all over the interstate.

       

Through the innovation of modern digital technology the invention of the camera phone, to some people is something out of a science-fiction novel.

The camera phone is a great invention but can sometimes be used to harass people.

Graham County Sheriff's Deputies were called to a man's house to do a welfare check on him.

His girlfriend called the Sheriff's Office claiming that he was sending her pictures of him - holding a gun to his head and threatening suicide.

The deputies went to the home of the desperate man and seized a .32-caliber hand gun in the mans bedroom. They talked to the mans mother and she said she would keep an eye on him and would contact the deputies if she needed anymore help.

       

Safford Police Officers never know what to expect when they receive a call about someone being under the influence of alcohol.

At around 2:00AM, last Thursday morning, Safford Officers were called to investigate a man who was passed out in the drive-thru if Los Jilverto's Restaurant on East Highway 70 in Safford.

When the officers arrived, they realized that the man had ordered food in the drive-thru and then passed out at the wheel of his car while it was still in gear and the engine was running.

One officer drove his patrol car facing the drunk man's car to avoid the man waking up and driving his car forward.

With that safety measure in place, the officers opened the passenger door and turned off the vehicle. He called out to the man and shook him trying to wake him up.

The man, identified as Isaac Faunce, would respond and then go back to sleep. This went on for approximately 5-minutes.

Faunce eventually sat up and attempted to put his car in gear.

He acknowledged that he was ok.

The officers asked Faunce how much he had to drink and he responded, "About a month ago."

Faunce was given a field sobriety test on the concrete drive of Los Jilverto's and in the opinion of the officer..........failed.

He was arrested, handcuffed, placed in back seat of a patrol car, and taken to the Safford Police Department, where blood was drawn to determine his intoxication level. Faunce was then released to a friend pending the outcome of the blood test.

       

A wholesale produce importer has recalled several thousand cartons of cantaloupes from Costa Rica after some tested positive for salmonella.

Castle Produce says the recall covered roughly 25-hundred cartons of cantaloupes delivered on or after February 16th to wholesalers in Los Angeles and San Francisco for distribution in the western states.

The cantaloupes were distributed for sale in bulk in cardboard cartons, with nine, 12 or 15 melons to a carton.

The company's chief financial officer says there have been no reports of illness due to the contaminated cantaloupes.

He says the source of the salmonella was a plastic basket used to hold the cantaloupes after they're harvested and washed.

       

The ethanol industry - sometimes called the ethel-alcohol industry, has begun promoting the fact that in the near future, ethanol will be combined with unleaded gasoline to try and reduce America's increased dependence on imported oil.

Addressing an ethanol industry trade group meeting in Tucson, Tuesday, Stephen Johnson, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency chief, said that the Federal Government has big plans to dramatically increase the use of ethanol and other alternative fuels in the very near future.

By the end of 2006, ethanol-blended gasoline accounted for 46-percent of the nation's fuel supply, according to Bob Dineen, President of the Renewable Fuels Association.

EPA chief Stephen Johnson says that the government is planning a requirement that the country use 35-Billion gallons of alternative fuels a year by 2017, compared with 6-million today. Gasoline use would have to be cut by 20-percent in the same period.

Last year, the ethanol industry produced a record 4.9-Billion gallons, opened 15 new "biorefineries" to produce more corn-based fuel, and began construction of 50 more.

Results in testing of ethanol in vehicles is still being studied. University of California says that it takes 29-percent more energy to produce ethanol than the amount produced.

The University of Minnesota found gains of 25 to 50-percent in energy supply due to ethanol.

Consumer Reports magazine last year tested a Chevrolet Tahoe SUV that ran on ethanol and found its fuel economy was poor - only 10- miles-per-gallon.

Whether ethanol works or not, more and more will be used in mixtures with gasoline to make it possible for Americans to keep driving their cars.

       

The Arizona Senate has approved a proposal that would deny suspended jail sentences for people who are convicted of first-offense extreme drunken driving.

The proposal would require judges to give first-term extreme D-U-I offenders the entire 30-day jail sentence currently called for under Arizona law.

Arizona's extreme D-U-I law currently lets judges suspend all but ten days of the sentence if the person completes a court-ordered drug or alcohol treatment program.

In Arizona, a driver is considered under the influence of alcohol if he or she has a blood-alcohol content of zero-point-zero-eight percent or higher.

The blood-alcohol content for extreme D-U-I in Arizona is zero-point-one-five or more.

Supporters say the bill targets drivers who have built up a tolerance to alcohol and drive while heavily intoxicated.

The measure was approved in a 29-to-zero vote by the Senate and now moves to the state House.

       

An endangered Mexican gray wolf that apparently killed three calves in southwest New Mexico has been fatally shot by the team that manages the animals.

The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service had issued a removal order for the wild-born member of the San Mateo Pack earlier this month.

The agency says bite marks in two confirmed cattle depredations and in one injury to a horse were consistent with the male wolf.

In a third cattle depredation, the carcass had deteriorated so no measurements were possible but they suspected the wolf.

The agency began releasing wolves into the wild in 1998 to re-establish the species in part of its historic range.

The Mexican gray wolves are designated as a "nonessential, experimental population."

That gives the recovery team flexibility to manage the wolves and allows permanent removal -- by capturing or killing a wolf -- after three confirmed livestock deaths.

       

The Arizona Senate has approved a bill to impose new restrictions on drivers who are under 18.

The bill would generally prohibit holders of Class G "graduated" licenses from driving between midnight and 5 a-m during the first six months they hold the license.

Exceptions to the midnight-to-five a-m ban include when the young driver is accompanied by a parent or when driving to certain specified locations or events.

The young driver would also be limited to having one passenger under age 18 in the car during the first six months. There are exceptions to the provision as well.

The bill now goes to the state House.

       

Arizona legislators are again grappling with how to punish employers for hiring illegal workers. Lawmakers are scheduled to consider two measures today.

One bill in the state House would require employers to swear in an affidavit that they have not knowingly hired an "unauthorized alien."

Another House bill would require employers to check the employment status of new hires against a federal database.

Republicans and Democrats say they've felt pressure from constituents to do something to clamp down on businesses that employ undocumented workers.

Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature and rank employer sanctions as one of their priorities this year.

       

An interesting story out of Cochise County.

Two Canadian women from British Columbia had apparently got lost while on a hike, Monday, near Kartchner Caverns.

They had set out on foot at around 9:15am, Monday morning, and when they had not returned by 2:00pm, someone called out the Cochise County Search and Rescue team.

The two women were definitely lost and were not dressed for the weather, wearing tank tops and shorts.

As the two lost Canadian women wondered through the wilderness behind Kartchner Caverns, they came up on an old Jeep that was broken down.

The women got in the Jeep, popped the clutch, and took off down the road.

Search and Rescue were traveling down a ranch road searching in their vehicles, when the two Canadians drove by and honked.

Search and Rescue stopped the Jeep and reported that the women had been found, at around 10:00pm.

The rancher who owned the commandeered Jeep said he couldn't get it started and that it had not worked in more than a month.

       

A Graham County Deputy was called to a single vehicle pick up truck accident on Hackel Road, South of Safford.

According to a Sheriff's Department report, a group of people were at the hot tubs on Hackel Road, late Friday night.

When the Deputy arrived at the scene of the accident, he found a red Ford Ranger lying on the passenger side.

The vehicle had been driven by Matthew Aaron Knight, 18, of Morenci. Knight had apparently rolled the truck several times on Hackel Road while traveling back to Morenci.

Patricia Rios White, 18, of Clifton was a passenger in Knight's truck when it rolled.

An ambulance was called and Knight was airlifted by helicopter to University Medical Center, with a broken clavicle and other unknown injuries.

Patricia White was taken to Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center with non life threatening injuries.

The rollover accident happened at approximately 3:20am, Saturday morning. It was determined that Knight was traveling at around 75MPH on Hackel Road when the accident occurred.

He was cited for Reckless Driving - Driving under the influence of alcohol, under the slightest degree, and excessive speed.

       

An employee of Boulevard Sales and Service called Safford Police at around 6:55am, Tuesday morning, to report that someone had broken into the Super Wok Restaurant, next door.

The burglars had stacked up several tires on the east side of the Super Wok restaurant and broken in through the drive thru window.

The owner of the Super Wok was called.

Once inside the restaurant, the owner told the investigating officer that about $110.00 in change was taken from a small lock box underneath the cash register.

The cash register had also been opened and $150.00 in cash was also taken.

According to the restaurant owner, nothing else was missing.

Safford Police have no suspects at this time and will continue to investigate.

       

Safford Police were called to Gila Valley Cycle and Ski, at 304 W. 5th Street in reference to a stolen Polaris Sportsman 450 Quad.

On Monday, February 12th, store manager Lonnie Johnson told police that he thought the 450 Quad was stolen during business hours, Monday. Johnson stated that he had seen the Quad parked at the business, with the keys in it. He felt that it was taken after 4:30pm, Monday.

The police officer found the Quad's tracks and followed them, headed toward the Gila River.

A Graham County Sheriff's Deputy was asked to assist the Safford Police Department in searching for the stolen Quad, near the river.

The Deputy stated that he drove to the river at all possible points of entry in the area and could not locate the stolen Quad.

An "Attempt to Locate" was issued through Graham County Dispatch.

The 2006 Polaris Sportsman 450 Quad, that was green and black in color, was valued at approximately $6,500.00.

       

The $26-Billion takeover of Phelps Dodge Corp., which many analysts initially gave little hope of succeeding, now appears likely to go through as the world's biggest mining merger when shareholders vote on March 14th.

According to an Arizona Republic newspaper article, copper prices have dropped 16-percent since the deal was announced November 19th, and have caused stockholders, who at first thought Freeport/McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc's., cash and stock offer was too low, to reconsider.

"Falling copper prices makes Freeport's offer look better and better," said Amir Arif, a mining industry analyst with Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., in Arlington, Virginia.

Major Phelps Dodge stockholders like a New York hedge fund Atticus Capitol LLC, Phelps Dodge's largest shareholder was initially uncommitted, but last month, threw its 20-million shares, about 10-percent of those outstanding, behind the merger.

Paulson & Co., another New York hedge fund that owns about 4.5-million shares of Phelps Dodge stock, has also come out in favor of the merger.

If by March 14th, Phelps Dodge decides to walk away, it would cost them $750-million in break up fees.

If Freeport/McMoRan decides to walk away from the deal, it has agreed to pay Phelps Dodge $375-million.

Phelps Dodge earned more than $3-Billion in 2006, and by the end of the year had amassed an almost $5-Billion in unrestricted cash, according to the report.

       

The search for the two men who held up the Mustang gas station with a gun on East Highway 70, last Monday night, February 5th, led investigators to the Tower Mobile Home Park, East of Safford, where three men were growing marijuana inside the Mobile Home.

A Graham County Deputy, searching for the gas station robbers, Monday night, was sent to space #18 at the Tower Mobile Home Park where he was tipped off that two men matching the robbers description were living.

When the deputy arrived, he found two men near two vehicles, one vehicle was seen leaving the Mustang gas station around the same time as the robbery.

Two subjects identified as Lonny Godden and Ernesto Esparza, told the deputy that they lived in space #18 with Esparza's brother and that they had been at the Mustang Gas Station earlier, but hadn't seen anything pertaining to the robbery.

The deputy asked to search the two men for guns and they allowed the search.

He also asked to search the two vehicles.

During the search, the deputy found a bong in a Honda and a black ski mask in a Chevy.

Esparza stated that both items belong to him.

The deputy was given permission to search the mobile home the men lived in and along with investigators from the Safford Police Department found several marijuana bongs and pipes, two small bags of marijuana, and 5-marijuana plants growing in a cabinet in the bathroom.

All three subjects were photographed and the marijuana and paraphernalia was taken into evidence. A report was sent to the Graham County Attorney's Office.

       

Pima Fire and Police Departments were called to the scene of a Mobile Home fire at around 2:45am, Wednesday morning.

Ronald Dulaney 63, was living in the mobile home that caught fire at 200 South and 200 East in Pima.

Dulaney was killed in the blaze.

A Pima Police spokesperson said that Dulaney's body has been sent to Tucson for autopsy. The cause of death and whether there was any foul play involved is still being investigated.

       

Safford Police Detectives received an anonymous tip, Wednesday afternoon, as to the identity of the two Mustang Gas Station robbery suspects and where they could be found.

Safford Detectives P.J. Allred and Diane Thomas were directed to an apartment in the Mt. Graham Apartments on South 20th Avenue in Safford.

The detectives knocked on the apartment door. They asked if they could come inside and search for evidence and the man living in the apartment allowed them to search without a warrant.

The detectives arrested Timothy A. Bradford, and Josh K. Clonts, both of Safford and both 19, and took them in for questioning.

They discovered two BB pistols, one that had been spray painted red, that at first glance looked like one of the weapons used in the robbery, last Monday night.

Other evidence was discovered in the apartment that led police to believe that Bradford and Clonts were the robbery suspects they were looking for.

Both were taken to jail, Wednesday night, and booked for armed robbery.

       

A semi with Georgia tags was impounded and the driver arrested after New Mexico Department of Transportation officers in Lordsburg discovered 775-pounds of marijuana in 30-bundles inside the trailer.

The tractor and trailer was stopped at the port of entry in Lordsburg, Saturday night. Port of Entry authorities searched the trailer and found the marijuana.

The driver, Jamarius Warren, 27, of Powder Springs, Georgia, was arrested by New Mexico State Police, and taken to the Dona Ana County Detention Center.

Warren said that he was headed to Mississippi.

The pot found was estimated to be worth $1.9-million.

       

Catron County officials in Reserve, New Mexico, in western New Mexico have passed a County ordinance that will allow them to trap or remove endangered Mexican gray wolves if federal authorities don't act first.

The Albuquerque Journal reports in a copyright story that the ordinance would allow the trapping or removal of wolves that become accustomed to humans or that have made residents anxious.

The ordinance is less tolerant of wolf-human interactions than federal protocols.

The U-S Fish and Wildlife Service began releasing Mexican gray wolves on the Arizona-New Mexico border in 1998. The aim is to re-establish the species in part of its historic range after the animals had been hunted to the brink of extinction in the early 1900s.

       

Safford Police Investigators say that they still have no leads and no suspects in the robbery of the Mustang Gas Station, that occurred just before 10:00pm, on Monday night, in Safford.

Detectives won't say if any money was taken during the robbery but they will say that the two men in hooded sweatshirts and ski masks did take several packs of cigarettes.

Safford police also say that the two men, according to witnesses at the Mustang Gas Station, pulled out a hand gun and pointed it at the two clerks that were on duty that night.

The two men were described as being in their early 20's, either white or Hispanic, and after the robbery, they fled the area on foot.

Safford Police searched for several hours for the two men but came up empty.

The Safford Police Department is offering a reward for any information leading to the arrest of the two robbery suspects.

       

The Eastern Arizona DUI Task Force, made up of 16 law enforcement officers from Graham and Greenlee Counties were deployed on Sunday, February 4th, looking for impaired drivers on Super Bowl Sunday.

The Graham County Sheriff's Department hosted this deployment.

The agencies involved included; The Safford, Thatcher, and Clifton Police, The Graham County Sheriff's Department and the Graham County Attorney's Office, DPS, and the Arizona Department of Liquor License Control.

The Task Force was patrolling from 6:00pm until 3:00am, Monday morning.

The 16 officers were able to catch 11-drivers that were arrested for DUI, they made 124 stops - with 3 arrests for extreme DUI - issued 21 citations, and 32-repair orders - and 13 seatbelt violations.

The average blood alcohol content for all 11-DUI arrests was .136. The legal alcohol limit in Arizona is below .08.

       

Two armed gunmen wearing ski masks entered the Mustang Gas Station On East Highway 70 in Safford, just before 10:00pm, Monday evening, and held two clerks in the store at gun point.

Whether the two gunmen took any amount of money has not been released but they did take several packs of cigarettes.

Both suspects are described as white or Hispanic, approximately 5' 10" tall, thin, and possibly in their early 20's. Both suspects were wearing dark, hooded sweatshirts and ski masks.

After the robbery, the suspects fled on foot.

Anyone with any information regarding this crime is asked to notify the Safford Police Department. A reward for information is being offered.

       

Department of Public Safety officers were called to a three-vehicle car accident on Highway 191, in the Black Hills, at around 5:30pm, Monday.

DPS reports that Matthew Garcia of Morenci was Southbound from Morenci on Highway 191, when he observed a gray Buick sedan ahead of him swerving and driving erratically, left of the center lane.

Garcia dialed 911 on his cell phone and while in the act, observed the gray Buick drive left of the center lane and collide at a high rate of speed with two other vehicles.

It was determined by DPS, that Travison Wright, 25, of Bylas who was driving the gray buick had steered left of the center line and sideswiped a Dodge Durango driven by Herbert Defreese, 43, of Morenci. Wright's vehicle sideswiped the Durango and then struck the left side of 16-foot flatbed trailer, towed by the Durango. Wright's vehicle then rotated counterclockwise in the northbound lane and was struck by a 1993 Saturn driven by Manuel Grijalva, 24, of Morenci. All three vehicles came to a stop blocking the Northbound lane of Highway 191.

Travison Wright was airlifted from the scene by helicopter to University Medical Center in Tucson for treatment of his injuries.

Klista Defreese, 36, the wife of Herbert Defreese, was a passenger in the Dodge Durango. She suffered possible serious injuries when she was struck in the abdomen by a deploying air bag. Mrs. Defreese is seven months pregnant. Her two year old son was in a child restraining seat and was not injured in the accident.

Klista Defreese was also airlifted to University Medical Center for treatment of her injuries.

Witness Matthew Garcia stated that Wright's vehicle had been swerving for approximately two miles prior to the collision.

Some of the victims had to be extricated from their vehicles by fire department personnel.

The accident was investigated by four DPS officers and blocked Highway 191 in the Black Hills from 5:45pm to around 7:18pm, Monday evening.

No word on the condition of the injured parties.

       

According to the experts, there is no availability of housing and no vacancies, anywhere in the Gila Valley.

During the work week, there are no motel vacancies and every apartment complex in Safford and Thatcher is full.

Some valley Mobile Home Parks have space for Mobile Homes, Motor Homes and Fifth-wheels, but they have no rentals available.

Star Walden, Manager of Sunrize Village Mobile Home Park and R.V Resort, on East Highway 70 in Safford says, that they have 195 spaces in their park with 65-rentals and no vacancies. Sunrize Village has spaces for R.V's, Fifth Wheels, Motor Homes and Mobile Homes, but for some reason there are no Mobile Homes being bought and moved into Sunrize Village.

Star also says that she turns away 10 to 15 people a day who are looking for a place to live.

The story is the same at the Silver Creek Mobile Home Community, formerly Safford East, on East Highway 70, just East of Safford.

James Saiz, the manager of Silver Creek says that he's turns away 10 to 20 people a day searching for a place to live, and his company has purchased several used mobile homes - refurbished them - and they were immediately rented. Saiz says he has 87-spaces in the Silver Creek Mobile Home Community and no vacancies.

       

Legislation to strengthen teen driving laws has been introduced in the Arizona Senate to help reduce crashes and death among young drivers.

"This bill limits the number of teens that are in the car, to reduce the possibility of driver distraction, and keeps youngsters off the streets in the middle of the night," said Senator Barbara Leff, R-Paradise Valley, who introduced the bill with Senator Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City.

Arizona is one of just five states without a graduated drivers license program for beginning drivers, according to Triple A - Arizona.

Senate Bill 1347, known as the Teenage Driver Safety Act would: Increase the hours of supervised training to obtain a drivers license to 30-hours from 25-hours, of which six must be during nighttime driving conditions.

Establish nighttime driving restrictions (midnight to 5am) for the first six months of driving.

Limit the number of non-family, teenaged passengers in the vehicle to no more than one for the first six months of driving.

Establish graduated fines and extensions of the nighttime restrictions and passenger limitations for noncompliance.

       

Jail sentences were handed out in Bisbee and Tucson for two different men in two separate crimes.

Damien Collins, a Sierra Vista criminal who robbed and kidnapped Sierra Vista bakery owner, Peter Bobke, stealing his vehicle and tried to take him into Mexico, was sentenced Thursday in Cochise County Superior Court to 46-and 1/4-years in prison for the crimes committed in late 2005.

Some of you might remember in May of 2004, when the National Bank on Highway 70 in Safford was robbed.

The ringleader of that bank robbery, Anthony Emery of Show Low, was found guilty of bank robbery and sentenced in a Tucson Federal Court, last week, to spend 12.3-years in Federal Prison.

       

Safford Police were dispatched to Walmart, Thursday afternoon, to a report of a man running around the store and disturbing customers.

Walmart security personnel had caught the man and were trying to escort him out of the store when he broke away from them and started running and screaming through out the store.

The security guards chased him into the pharmacy department where the man jumped over and stood behind the pharmacy counter.

When the man jumped over the counter, he struck and broke a debit card machine, valued at around $1500.00.

When Safford Police arrived they heard a male voice yelling in the pharmacy Department. Safford Police went to the pharmacy department and found the two Walmart security guards wrestling with the man, identified as Carroll Lockett Pyle.

The Safford officer ordered the security guards away from Pyle and the officer pulled out his tazer gun and told Pyle to lie on the ground.

Pyle complied and he was handcuffed without incident.

Pyle was transported to the Graham County Jail where he was booked for Aggravated Criminal Damage, Disorderly Conduct, and Trespassing.

       

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas doesn't care for an Arizona House Bill, sponsored by District 5 Representative from Safford Bill Konopnicki.

HB2298, written and sponsored by Konopnicki, would allow non-violent offenders incarcerated in the Arizona Department of Corrections and are classified as low or medium risk to become eligible for early release from prison.

Andrew Thomas said in Phoenix, Tuesday that his calculations indicate up to three-quarters of the more than 35,000 state inmates could get out early.

According to Katie Decker, spokesperson for ADOC, there are some problems as to who might get out early as a non-violent offender. Decker said that she's sure that only a small percentage of inmates would be eligible for early release.

Thomas complained, This bill would allow the Department of Corrections to release out the back door the repeat felons we are sending through the front door.

It's a dangerous scheme designed to help the state avoid the cost of paying to lock up career criminals.

Konopnicki stated that there has to be a change in the attitude of the Maricopa County Attorney and some other prosecutors that think the state must keep incarcerating more and more people.

"Unless we make some changes about what we do, over the next five years we're looking at at least $1-billion in expenditures just for physical plants and prisons."

Konopnicki also accused Thomas on Tuesday of being more interested in publicity than actually dealing with the underlying problem.

HB2298 at this time is just being proposed in the Arizona House by Konopnicki