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Drug Trafficking felony Narcotics

Marijuana Drug Bust in Phoenix

Police Finds Crate Carrying Marijuana

 

Metro police intercepted a crate containing 140 pounds of marijuana shipped from Phoenix for distribution to street dealers in Nashville Thursday.

When detectives received information that the 327 pound wooden crate located at a local freight company could be tied to criminal activity, they sent Caine, a police dog, to check, police said.

With the help of a Caine, officers found 140 pounds of marijuana inside the cargo during a search warrant, repackaged the marijuana and followed the shipment to a home in the 5000 block of Ryan Allen Court, the affidavit continues.

Police arrested Tusabi Edwards, 40, and Terrence Reames, 38, in connection with possession with intent to sell, deliver, or manufacture a controlled substance in a school zone.

Depending on the grade of the marijuana, current drug prices provided by Metro police show it’s valued at anywhere between $385,000 to $630,000.

His co-defendant, Reames, told police Edwards came to Nashville to oversee the load of marijuana and that Edwards was supposed to sell the marijuana in Nashville. Reams also said he was to receive $2000 for his part to distribute the marijuana for providing a place to receive and break down the marijuana for re-sale in Nashville, the affidavit states.

Edwards is being held in lieu of $200,000 bond. Reames’ bond is set at $50,000.

As of Friday morning both men remained incarcerated at the Metro jail.

PART 2

The Maricopa County Drug Task Force removes Marijuana plants and growing materials after shutting down an allegedly illegal grow operation at a warehouse located near 40th Street and Washington on Tuesday, April 19, 2016, in Phoenix, Ariz. Danny Miller / azcentral.com | The Republic

Armed with a search warrant, authorities arrived at a grow warehouse near 40th and Washington streets at 7:30 a.m. and seized more than 600 marijuana plants in what may have been one of the county’s largest drug busts, said Lt. Jeff Gentry of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Hash, edibles and kief — a dried form of marijuana — also were found at the warehouse.The marijuana collected from the warehouse will be dried at a Drug Enforcement Administration facility and then will be packaged as evidence, Gentry said.

A total of 12 warrants were served in Scottsdale, Phoenix and Fountain Hills in connection with the investigation. Among the items seized were guns and more than $100,000 in cash, according to officials.

A father and son are believed to head more than 10 similar marijuana grow facilities in Phoenix and northern Arizona that have been running for about a year and a half and have generated at least $16 million for the operators during that time, Gentry said. That dollar amount is a conservative estimate, he said.

Arrested Tuesday were Perry Lee Hestor, 57, Brandon Lee Hestor, 35, Christopher Neil Rafferty, 36, James Allen Donaldson, 62, and Christopher Yancy Martin, 44. All have been booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail and face charges including fraudulent schemes and illegal possession and selling of marijuana, officials said.

Gentry said those involved in the illegal enterprise posed as caregivers, which, under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, would allow them to grow up to 12 marijuana plants provided they did not live within 25 miles of a dispensary. The task force kept the warehouse under surveillance for about four months and did not witness any deliveries that exceeded 25 miles, Gentry said.

A Sheriff’s Office statement said the business is believed to have grown over 2,000 pounds of marijuana per year since they began their operation in late 2013.

Authorities were initially directed to the warehouse after complaints of a strong odor wafting in the area.

In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, sheriff’s spokesman Joaquin Enriquez explained the business flouted state standards for legal dispensaries by neglecting to have background checks for employees, dispensary fees, agent cards, safety regulations, product inspection, inventory controls, taxes and transportation limits or regulations.

Sheriff Joe Arpaio said detectives believe up to 25 individuals were involved in the illegal enterprise and about 15 more suspects are under investigation.

He said the operation involved people “just trying to make money” and that investigators found no connection between the business and Mexican drug cartels.

“We cannot blame Mexico for this,” Arpaio said, tapping the wooden podium forcefully with his finger. “This is domestic. This is home grown.”

The Maricopa County Drug Suppression Task Force includes law-enforcement personnel from agencies including area police departments, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

 

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felony Personal Injury Premises Liability

Animal Fights In Arizona

Animal Fights and Animal Cruelty

 

Animal cruelty is almost just as bad as being mean to another human being. In some cases the fines could be almost as high or more as though you beat a human.

 

Animal Cruelty Laws

 

Sec. 8-3. – Animal cruelty.

A. A person commits animal cruelty if the person does any of the following:

1. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly subjects any animal under the person’s custody or control to cruel neglect or abandonment.

2. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly fails to provide medical attention necessary to prevent protracted suffering to any animal under the person’s custody or control.

3. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly inflicts unnecessary physical injury to any animal.

4. Recklessly subjects any animal to cruel mistreatment.

5. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly kills or attempts to kill any animal under the custody or control of another person without either legal privilege or consent of the owner.

6. Recklessly interferes with, strikes, kills or harms a working or service animal without either legal privilege or consent of the owner.

7. Strikes an animal with a vehicle resulting in injury to the animal, and leaves the scene without rendering aid and assistance in the care of such animal if such action can be taken with reasonable safety. For the purposes of this paragraph, “animal” means any animal of a species that is susceptible to rabies, except man.

 

It’s pretty sad when you have to have laws telling you to be nice to animals, but sadly that is what this world is coming to. Cruelty, in every form. Recently a woman in Phoenix was put into jail after she shot two dogs who were fighting in her own backyard over the weekend. Is that really jail worthy? The dogs shouldn’t have been in her yard and fighting non the less.

 

The fight happened on Saturday. This was at her home near 27th Street and Union Hills Drive. The court documents show that Katie Pallante who is only twenty-six years old, shot two dogs who were attacking one another in her own yard. At the time of the shooting, she was actually watching over twenty-two dogs and three cats.

 

Miss Pallante told the police that she tried to pull the dogs apart and spray them with water, however the dogs would not stop fighting. She then told them that she had to run inside to keep her four year old daughter from coming out the door. She then grabs her .40-caliber handgun. Which you can’t blame the woman for wanting to keep her daughter safe as well as the other animals. Miss Pallante runs back outside with her gun and then she shot the male dog in the stomach. The court documents also states that she then shoots the female dog who would not stop attacking the already injured dog.

 

Pallante says she didn’t want to kill the dogs,she just wanted them to stop fighting. The court documents show that the male dog did not belong to Pallante. The owner of the female dog is still unknown.  After Pallante shoots the two dogs she then leaves the home and goes to the nearby gas stations so she can pick up some cigarettes and a drink. One of the officers has to tell her to come back to her home. Maybe she isn’t quite as innocent as she first makes people believe.

 

The humane society shows up and takes both of the dogs. They do not know if the male injured dog will survive. Pallante is being booked into jail later on two counts of animal cruelty as well as two counts of discharging a firearm in city limits.

 

So if you hear two dogs fighting in your yard and you and your family are able to stay inside, do so and call the authorities or you can face the same sentence as Pallante.

 

Another Animal Cruelty Case

 

Arizona Proposition 201:

Proposition 201 would amend state law to create the crime of cockfighting. Cockfighting would be classified as a class 5 felony, generally punishable by a possible fine of up to $150,000 and a possible prison term ranging from nine months to two years. Presence at a cockfight would be classified as a class 1 misdemeanor, generally punishable by a possible fine of up to $2,500 and a possible jail term of up to six months. This proposition would extend existing state law animal cruelty exemptions and defenses that apply to lawful hunting, ranching, farming, rodeos and related activities to also apply to cockfighting. The measure passed in 1998 with 68.1% of the vote.

 

Cockfighting is a traditional event, not a good one but many people enjoying watching those poor Roosters kill each other. Some use little boxing gloves to cover the Rooster spurs, some add little blades. This and dog fighting, I find absolutely heart breaking.

 

Now a Phoenix man will no longer be able to torture those poor Roosters. The man has been arrested for his connection with cockfighting at his home which is in Phoenix.

 

Police try to cover these calls quickly but carefully. They want to try to catch all those involved in the illegal cockfighting matches. The police quickly responded to this call of cockfighting. They came to a home near 63rd Avenue and Van Buren Street on a Saturday. While the authorities were there they sadly were witnesses to several injured roosters.

 

Police luckily found and arrested Slivano Tena who is fifty years old for seventy-one counts of animal cruelty. How sad, it’s hard to tell how long the many years and how many fights have happened in Tena’s home. How many roosters had to die just for the enjoyment and betting on one or the other?

 

Luckily the humane society was quick to respond to the cockfighting scene the humane society was able to rescue seventy-one animals from the property. Mr. Tena did admit to owning the property and even renting out individual pens for the roosters.

 

If you know of someone who is fighting rooster, dogs, or whatever please let the local authorities know. Whatever information you give them will be confidential.

 

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assault battery felony Personal Injury

Man in Custody After Standoff in Phoenix

Man Arrested After Stand Off in Phoenix

 

On Sunday a night a thirty-five year old man was arrested after a standoff in South Phoenix. The Phoenix police responded to the call on 24th Street and Baseline Road. The call came at six,forty-five in the evening. The call was reported as a man standing at a corner and was holding a machine gun.

 

When the Phoenix Officers arrived to the scene they found the thirty-five year old man, Aristeo Saliz, in the front yard of a home. There was also a forty-year old female victim there as well. According to the police, Saliz ran into the home as soon as he saw the officers.

 

Police Talk to Standoff Victim

 

After the authorities talked to the female victim, they had determined that she had actually had an order of protection against the suspect. The suspect, Saliz actually had some felony warrants for his arrest.

 

The officers were able to surround the home. The police took some precautions and had some of the neighborhood residents evacuate. After a few hours of some tough negotiating the officers finally entered the home and were able to find Saliz, who was hiding in the attic.

 

Saliz was arrested and according to the police, it looked like he was having symptoms of having a seizure. The suspect was quickly treated at the scene and transported to a local hospital. Mr. Saliz was released from the hospital and then he was quickly booked into jail for violating the order of protection as well as his felony warrants and possessing a firearm.

 

It has not been said what caused this rampage or the condition of the female victim.

 

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/south-phoenix/pd-suspect-barricaded-in-phoenix-home-may-have-weapon

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drug possesion Drug Trafficking felony Narcotics

Mexican Man Sentenced for Drug Trafficking

Forty Year Old Sentenced for Drug Trafficking

 

On Monday, A forty year old Mexican man was sentenced for a growing crime of drug trafficking. He was sentenced to seventeen and a half years in the Arizona Federal Prison for the Drug Trafficking crime. It seems like a harsher punishment is hopefully so others will see how wrong this is and spook them into quitting.

 

According to the Federal Prosecutors, The Mexican man’s name is Luis Enrique Villegas-Lugo. Back in February, Luis Enrique Villegas-Luga pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine”. I guess one good thing is he didn’t fight the charges, but usually pleading guilty gets you a slight lesser sentence.

 

Drug Trafficking Investigation

The police authorities say that the organization that operated this drug trafficking was originally investigated from July 2006 to September 2006 over the Phoenix area. The ring of drug traffickers allegedly imported methamphetamine from Mexico and then transported it to a stash house that was located in Phoenix. The drugs were then distributed to the waiting customers.

Police Seized Meth, Guns, and Drug Packaging Materials

During the investigation the investigating police law enforcement agents seized almost twenty pounds of meth as well as two handguns, two rifles, as well as some drug packaging materials from the stash house in Phoenix. Luis Enrique Villegas-Lugo was actually charged for the drug trafficking back in February of 2009. He is just now getting his sentencing which he got seventeen and a half years. The court probably allowed him the 5 years he already served to be taken off making him have twelve and a half more years to serve.

Source : https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/mexican-man-gets-prison-in-drug-trafficking-case

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Trial Beginning For Man Who Is Charged With Mailing Bomb

Homemade Bomb Maker Case Goes to Trial

 

Today a jury selection is starting to begin for the Oklahoma man who allegedly (and was charged with) mailing an inoperable homemade bomb to the Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpaio. Of course, Gregory Lynn Shrader has pleaded not guilty to the “federal charges” against him. Gregory is from Jay, Oklahoma. Doesn’t seem like a sweet Oklahoman could be so cruel as to send a bomb to someone, however it’s really hard to tell who is a criminal these days.
The police investigators found the bomb back in April of 2013. The bomb was at a mail collection box unit located in Flagstaff. The bomb was made of “smokeless powder, wires, a battery, and a pressure-release switch attached to its lid”.

 

Homemade Bomb is a Dud

Police investigators soon figured out that the homemade bomb was really inoperable. However, there was some black powder inside of the box and that could have exploded or ignited in a flash fire. Thankfully whoever made the bomb didn’t do it well, or perhaps they just wanted to scare Officer Arpaio. Either way, the suspect Gregory is now going to trial for his cruel actions. After their investigation the police were able to disable the dud of a bomb.

 

Some evidence police have already gathered is that a woman had witnessed and even drove Gregory Shrader to northern Arizona. She saw Gregory place the parcel into the mailbox and he was wearing surgical-type gloves at the time he placed the box inside of the mail.

 

People get away with a lot of things these days. There’s nothing that you can’t find on the internet or television. This is good for entertainment however it’s not good for the community or the crime rate. With a witness, it doesn’t seem like Mr. Shrader will be getting away with his homemade bomb threat.

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/gregory-lynn-shrader-update-trial-to-begin-for-man-accused-of-mailing-bomb

 

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Parents Warning Children About “Stranger Danger”

Phoenix Police Advise Parents to Warn Children About “Stranger Danger”

 

After an incident that involved an eight year old little girl, the Phoenix police are advising parents to talk to their children about “Stranger Danger”.  Of course you would think most parents would strongly warn children about strangers anyway, but it’s nice that the law enforcement is wanting to help and remind the parents of those dangers.

 

According to the Phoenix Police, the little girl had just gotten off of the school bus near 13th and Campbell avenues around one o’clock in the afternoon last Wednesday. The little girl was walking to her home when a pickup truck had stopped and then the driver opened the pickup truck door.

 

Stranger Exposes Himself to 8 Year Old Girl

According to the police report from the Phoenix Police department, the driver of the pick up wasn’t wearing any pants and he was exposing himself as well as masturbating in front of the eight year old little girl. The little girl immediately ran home and met her father just as he was arriving home.

 

The shocked and outraged father got back into his vehicle and then followed the suspect as the man in the pick up truck drove around another neighborhood which was near the 19th Avenue and Indian School Road. The Phoenix Police said that the father watched as the man began to drive slow near yet another young girl that was wearing a school uniform. However, for whatever reason, the man in the pickup suddenly sped away and the father suddenly lost sight of the suspect. Luckily, the quick thinking father was able to get the license plate number of the pickup truck.

 

The father called the Phoenix Police and gave them the license plate number. The police records showed that the pickup belonged to a Danny Ray Jones. Jones is a sixty-two year old registered sex offender. The Phoenix Police detectives immediately went to Mr. Jones’ home and waited for him to return home again.

 

Around six thirty that evening a patrol officer noticed Jones’ truck in the area of his home. Jones was driving on the wrong side of the road and the officer was able to pull him over. Police Investigators say that Jones even admitted he was in the area where the little girl was walking and even admitted to being naked and masturbating in front of her.

 

Jones Gets Arrested for Exposing Himself

Danny Ray Jones was then booked into the local jail for one count of Indecent Exposure. Indecent Exposure in Phoenix is a Class 3 Felony. Phoenix Police are proud of the girl and her father for the way they handled the situation. The police say that this incident is an important reminder that every parent needs to constantly remind their children about “Stranger Danger” and have a plan in place for if something like this should ever happen to them.

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/phoenix-police-registered-sex-offender-jailed-on-new-charge

 

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