Moreno's Mexican Grill Target of Joe Arpaio's Latest Employer Sanctions Raid Which Targeted Employees

Maricopa County is now safe from six illegal immigrants who were allegedly using stolen identities to work at a Mexican restaurant in Chandler.

That's right, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office conducted its latest illegal immigrant roundup at Moreno's Mexican grill in Chandler this morning. It netted a total of six arrests.

The MCSO says it received information that 14 illegal immigrants were using fake IDs in order to work at the restaurant. Only six were arrested today -- which is a vast improvement from the last time the sheriff went gangbusters on a Valley business in search of illegal immigrants.

Last week, Arpaio's boys in beige raided a Days Inn hotel in downtown Phoenix. The result: one arrest.

Per usual, Sheriff Joe Arpaio is trying to church-up the immigrant roundup, calling the raid an "employer sanctions operation." Also per usual, no employers were arrested -- just employees.

When asked if any employers were arrested, MCSO Officer Chris Hegstrom tells New Times "at this time, I can tell you we arrested six employees for using false identification."

Again, precisely zero employers were arrested during the sheriff's "employer sanctions operation" this morning -- but that's because the raid had nothing to do with sanctions for people who hire illegal immigrants; it was just your run-of-the-mill MCSO immigrant roundup under the guise of an "employer sanctions operation."

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/09/morenos_mexican_grill_target_o.php

Pinal County deputy in desert shootout fired over comments

Disgraced Pinal County deputy Louie Puroll with Pinal County sheriff Paul Babeau

A Pinal County Sheriff's deputy who purportedly was wounded in a gun battle with drug smugglers last year has been fired for making false statements to a journalist.

In a news release, the Sheriff's Office said Deputy Louie Puroll was terminated for 10 violations of departmental policy governing ethics violations, incompetence and truthfulness.

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said in the statement that he stood by Puroll's controversial claim of being in an April shootout because the account was supported by evidence. However, Babeu said, comments made by the deputy to a Phoenix New Times reporter "brought discredit to himself and the men and women representing our sworn law enforcement profession."

Puroll suffered a minor flesh wound in a shootout that propelled him and Babeu into the national media spotlight in the heat of public debate over border security and Arizona's tough immigration law known as Senate Bill 1070.

After the incident, numerous law enforcement experts and others contended that Puroll fabricated the entire incident based on physical evidence and inconsistencies in his story. Babeu stood behind the deputy's account, and a Pinal County Sheriff's investigation concluded that the incident was authentic.

Puroll was suspended last year for comments he made to New Times.

In one interview, he told the newspaper that he had been approached by Mexican cartel members and asked to help them. In another, he told reporter Paul Rubin that a friend had offered to murder Rubin in retaliation for critical news stories.

Puroll, a search-and-rescue deputy with 14 years on the force, was placed under investigation because he had never reported those matters to his superiors or to other law enforcement.

Despite Puroll's questionable comments in the media, Babeu has maintained that the deputy's shootout with smugglers was validated by evidence.

Puroll could not be reached for comment.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/01/05/20110105pinal-county-deputy-comments-investigation.html

Third body pulled from Arizona canal

A third body has been found at a Gila Bend canal where a group of illegal immigrants fled from authorities during a vehicle stop last week, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

Authorities say deputies and fire personnel were in route to recover the body. Two bodies were recovered earlier Thursday.

Detectives believe that survivors did not disclose there may be a third body in the water to thwart investigators.

Three suspected illegal immigrants were rescued from the canal and arrested after a traffic stop near U.S. 80, and clothing descriptions helped identify the two males pulled earlier Thursday from the water, the Sheriff's Office said.

One of bodies is that of a 17-year-old boy who had been traveling with his father, who survived, Sheriff Joe Arpaio said. The other body is that of a male believed to be age 17-21.

Last week, deputies launched a robot into the 8-foot-deep canal. The water was murky and so full of debris that no bodies were visible.

Arpaio mentioned that this is the third case where a juvenile, or reported juvenile, has jumped into the same canal near Gillespie Dam.

"There is a trend occurring, and it has to stop," Arpaio said.

The first took place two weeks ago when a juvenile jumped into the deep water and was rescued by deputies.

"They are still taking chances, trying to evade our law enforcement," Arpaio said.

Arpaio said human smuggling is a complex and controversial problem, and he is not going to stop.

"I'm going to crack down even more starting in the new year," Arpaio said.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/12/23/20101223gila-bend-two-bodies-recovered-abrk.html

Two Children -- Feared Drowned in Canal Near Gila Bend After Running From MCSO Deputy

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office fears that two children believed to be undocumented immigrants -- both under the age of 18 -- drowned in a canal near Gila Bend after fleeing a car pulled over by a sheriff's deputy last night.

MCSO spokesman Jeff Sprong says the sheriff's dive team is headed to an area of the canal near mile post 11 on old US 80 to try and locate the bodies if the two did in fact drown.

The incident happened about 8:30 p.m. yesterday when a sheriff's deputy made a routine traffic stop on US 80. When the car came to a stop, the deputy says he watched five people jump out and start running from the vehicle.

The five suspected undocumented immigrants jumped into the nearby canal in an attempt to evade the deputy. At the time, the MCSO says, the canal's water flow was heavy.

Three of the suspects were pulled from the canal, while deputies were unable to locate the other two.

Last week, deputies rescued a minor from the same canal, in the same general area, Sprong says.

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2010/12/two_suspected_illegal_immigran.php