You can tack another $1 million on to the more than $50 million in legal settlements Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has cost county taxpayers -- the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve a settlement in a lawsuit filed by a man who died while in the sheriff's custody.
The family of Juan Farias Mendoza initially sued the county for $6 million.
Mendoza found himself in the custody of the MCSO following a 2007 arrest for driving under the influence. While in custody, Mendoza had several altercations with Arpaio's detention officers, which the lawsuit claims led to his death.
According to the notice of claim, Detention officers used pepper spray, Tasers, physical force, and a spit mask on Mendoza while he was in custody. A county medical examiner later found that the bruises on Mendoza's body showed signs of trauma.
The sheriff's office didn't immediately respond to our request for comment, but Arpaio tells the Arizona Republic that he doesn't recall the details of Mendoza's death.
"It was settled due to the nature of doing business," Arpaio tells the paper. "That wasn't up to us, that was the county that decided to settle it. We have nothing to do with us. We never like to lose anybody in jail, but we have ... 300,000 (inmates) come through our jails since I've been sheriff. Sometimes you have people that pass away."
Luis Guerra, the attorney representing Mendoza's family didn't return New Times' multiple phone calls.
See Mendoza's family's notice of claim here.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/11/county_to_shell_out_1_million.php
Showing posts with label detention officer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label detention officer. Show all posts
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Bail cut for Arpaio staffers tied to drug ring
Two of three Maricopa County sheriff's
employees implicated in a multinational heroin smuggling ring have been
released from custody after posting bail, and the highest-ranking member
of the trio had his bail reduced to $25,000 this week after a judge
determined the original $1 million cash bail was excessive.
The developments in the case, which accused the sheriff's employees of conspiring to smuggle heroin and launder money, came as prosecutors have offered plea deals to all 19 defendants and dismissed charges against one in the interest of justice.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the reduced bond amounts and dismissed charges do not reflect on the quality of the investigation his deputies performed. But Arpaio said he was concerned about the release of some suspects who have ties to other countries.
Evidence that investigators presented to the grand jury after the months-long probe, which included the use of court-ordered wire taps, indicated that former Deputy Alfredo Navarrette and former sheriff's detention officer Marcella Hernandez discussed moving to a ranch in Mexico before their arrests.
Investigators said the ranch is owned by the smuggling ring's alleged leader, Francisco Arce-Torres, who is accused of having ties to the Sinaloan cartel and whom detectives believe fathered a child Hernandez gave birth to shortly after her arrest.
"I'm a little concerned about my people being released on $25,000 bond when intelligence shows they have this farm in (Mexico) and they're thinking about moving there," Arpaio said.
The efforts of attorneys to reduce bail amounts, get charges dismissed and have cases sent back to a grand jury are part of any vigorous defense. But the involvement of three members of the law-enforcement community being investigated by their own agency makes the case distinct.
The group mostly moved heroin, according to investigators, and officials suspect each of the arrested sheriff's employees played a crucial role in moving the drugs and hiding illicit profits. Authorities say the ring moved about $56,000 worth of heroin a week through the Valley.
Arce-Torres arranged for the heroin to be brought into the Valley after his brothers produced the drug on the family's ranch in Mexico, according to court documents.
Hernandez's brother, who was also among those arrested, is suspected of operating one of several stash houses, and investigators believe Hernandez coordinated the pickup and delivery of heroin from the drug houses.
Navarrette and Sylvia Najera, the other arrested detention officer, helped set up a shell corporation called West Utilities Group Inc., which was used earlier this year to launder nearly $50,000 in drug proceeds, according to court documents.
Najera was released after posting $12,000 bail this summer.
Hernandez's bond was reduced from $2 million to $25,000 and she was released shortly after 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
But it was Navarrette who was depicted as among the most egregious suspects to emerge in the investigation, in part because of his role in the sheriff's human-smuggling unit and the presence of two undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's Phoenix home when deputies raided it in May.
Navarrette's attorney painted a different picture in documents he filed requesting reduced bond for his client.
The undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's house were simply renting space from the divorced deputy, who needed the extra income to keep his home, according to his attorney.
And the lifestyle Navarrette lived before his arrest does not fit with that of a money-laundering smuggler, Navarrette's attorney, Herman Alacantar, told the court.
"Mr. Navarrette was not once during this investigation spending large amounts of money, driving of possessing fancy or expensive cars or otherwise living an expensive or extravagant lifestyle," Alcantar wrote. "On the contrary, Mr. Navarrette's utilities were regularly cut off for nonpayment; he was always behind on all his bills and often had to borrow money from other deputies and friends to make ends meet."
The filings included numerous letters from Navarrette's family and friends, who cited his longstanding ties to the Valley, where he was born and raised, his service in the military and work in the Sheriff's Office.
Prosecutors declined to comment on the case, but their filings point to some of the same factors - particularly Navarrette's work in law enforcement while allegedly involved in a criminal enterprise - as reason enough for the bond to remain at $1 million.
The filings also cited months of surveillance and intercepted phone calls that allegedly support prosecutors' claims that Navarrette was intimately involved in the smuggling ring.
"While the defendant has many letters in support of him, it is apparent that those who continue to support him do not grasp the depth of his behavior and actions," prosecutor Rebekah Browder wrote. "If the defendant was able to commit these crimes while wearing a badge, it can only be assumed that if he is released from jail, he will have free reign to break the laws again."
But Superior Court Judge Janet Barton ruled Tuesday that Navarrette's $1 million bond was "clearly excessive."
The decision left Arpaio steamed.
"You have a deputy sheriff who has worked on our human smuggling and given intelligence out, putting my deputies in danger, tipping them (smugglers) off and now this guy's getting back on the street with $25,000?" Arpaio asked. "I don't understand this, I really don't."
The sheriff's employees and other defendants are due back in court in early December.
Navarette remained in custody as of Wednesday.
The developments in the case, which accused the sheriff's employees of conspiring to smuggle heroin and launder money, came as prosecutors have offered plea deals to all 19 defendants and dismissed charges against one in the interest of justice.
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the reduced bond amounts and dismissed charges do not reflect on the quality of the investigation his deputies performed. But Arpaio said he was concerned about the release of some suspects who have ties to other countries.
Evidence that investigators presented to the grand jury after the months-long probe, which included the use of court-ordered wire taps, indicated that former Deputy Alfredo Navarrette and former sheriff's detention officer Marcella Hernandez discussed moving to a ranch in Mexico before their arrests.
Investigators said the ranch is owned by the smuggling ring's alleged leader, Francisco Arce-Torres, who is accused of having ties to the Sinaloan cartel and whom detectives believe fathered a child Hernandez gave birth to shortly after her arrest.
"I'm a little concerned about my people being released on $25,000 bond when intelligence shows they have this farm in (Mexico) and they're thinking about moving there," Arpaio said.
The efforts of attorneys to reduce bail amounts, get charges dismissed and have cases sent back to a grand jury are part of any vigorous defense. But the involvement of three members of the law-enforcement community being investigated by their own agency makes the case distinct.
The group mostly moved heroin, according to investigators, and officials suspect each of the arrested sheriff's employees played a crucial role in moving the drugs and hiding illicit profits. Authorities say the ring moved about $56,000 worth of heroin a week through the Valley.
Arce-Torres arranged for the heroin to be brought into the Valley after his brothers produced the drug on the family's ranch in Mexico, according to court documents.
Hernandez's brother, who was also among those arrested, is suspected of operating one of several stash houses, and investigators believe Hernandez coordinated the pickup and delivery of heroin from the drug houses.
Navarrette and Sylvia Najera, the other arrested detention officer, helped set up a shell corporation called West Utilities Group Inc., which was used earlier this year to launder nearly $50,000 in drug proceeds, according to court documents.
Najera was released after posting $12,000 bail this summer.
Hernandez's bond was reduced from $2 million to $25,000 and she was released shortly after 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
But it was Navarrette who was depicted as among the most egregious suspects to emerge in the investigation, in part because of his role in the sheriff's human-smuggling unit and the presence of two undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's Phoenix home when deputies raided it in May.
Navarrette's attorney painted a different picture in documents he filed requesting reduced bond for his client.
The undocumented immigrants in Navarrette's house were simply renting space from the divorced deputy, who needed the extra income to keep his home, according to his attorney.
And the lifestyle Navarrette lived before his arrest does not fit with that of a money-laundering smuggler, Navarrette's attorney, Herman Alacantar, told the court.
"Mr. Navarrette was not once during this investigation spending large amounts of money, driving of possessing fancy or expensive cars or otherwise living an expensive or extravagant lifestyle," Alcantar wrote. "On the contrary, Mr. Navarrette's utilities were regularly cut off for nonpayment; he was always behind on all his bills and often had to borrow money from other deputies and friends to make ends meet."
The filings included numerous letters from Navarrette's family and friends, who cited his longstanding ties to the Valley, where he was born and raised, his service in the military and work in the Sheriff's Office.
Prosecutors declined to comment on the case, but their filings point to some of the same factors - particularly Navarrette's work in law enforcement while allegedly involved in a criminal enterprise - as reason enough for the bond to remain at $1 million.
The filings also cited months of surveillance and intercepted phone calls that allegedly support prosecutors' claims that Navarrette was intimately involved in the smuggling ring.
"While the defendant has many letters in support of him, it is apparent that those who continue to support him do not grasp the depth of his behavior and actions," prosecutor Rebekah Browder wrote. "If the defendant was able to commit these crimes while wearing a badge, it can only be assumed that if he is released from jail, he will have free reign to break the laws again."
But Superior Court Judge Janet Barton ruled Tuesday that Navarrette's $1 million bond was "clearly excessive."
The decision left Arpaio steamed.
"You have a deputy sheriff who has worked on our human smuggling and given intelligence out, putting my deputies in danger, tipping them (smugglers) off and now this guy's getting back on the street with $25,000?" Arpaio asked. "I don't understand this, I really don't."
The sheriff's employees and other defendants are due back in court in early December.
Navarette remained in custody as of Wednesday.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Broke-ass Maricopa County Sheriff's Sergeant Arrested for Theft
Sgt. Jason Vance, 31, has been arrested for felony theft.
The investigation started after Lower Buckeye Jail supervisors noticed a large sum of money was missing from a safe during a routine cash count.
Detectives examined surveillance video from inside the jail, which showed Vance taking the money from the safe while on-duty. They interviewed him and Vance openly confessed to the crime, MCSO says.
They say that Vance knew he was in the view of the cameras and tried to conceal what he was doing.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio says, "It is a very sad situation to have to arrest one of my own officers but this is a clear act of a crime and he must be held accountable."
Apparently Vance hadn't been working a lot lately and was in bad financial shape. His car was repossessed from the Lower Buckeye Jail parking lot.
"He was on leave without pay for 6 weeks so evidently he needed money to get his car back, but you don't go steal money from a safe to get your car back," says Sheriff Joe.
The safe holds cash brought in by inmates or deposited by their families while they are in custody.
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/crime/mcso-sergeant-arrested-for-theft-11-24-2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Late Timing of Detention Officer's DUI Arrest Questioned
Maricopa County Sheriff's detention officer Adrian Salazar GuzmanAdrian Salazar Guzman had a blood alcohol level of nearly 3 times the legal limit. It has many people asking why his arrest took so long.
Guzman has been charged with negligent homicide and several DUI-related charges in the death of 26-year-old Alisha Trejo. Court documents allege he ran a stop sign and hit Trejo, who was on a motorcycle stopped at the Goodyear intersection.
Her leg was amputated as a result of the impact and she died instantly.
At the hospital, Guzman admitted he had been drinking since 10 a.m. and felt "buzzed." A blood alcohol test taken by nurses at 2 a.m. registered at .225. At 4:23 a.m., DPS procured a search warrant and took another blood test, and the result was .14. The legal limit in Arizona is .08.
The accident happened on Oct. 16. But Guzman wasn't arrested until Oct. 29, nearly two weeks later. We've been trying to stay on top of this, but Goodyear Police has been very uncooperative with our questions and gave us the runaround.
FOX 10 wanted to know if this was standard procedure for Goodyear Police.
We called John Rowan with the department, and he says, Guzman's case was handled properly. When we asked him whether or not Guzman was given preferential treatment because he is a detention officer, the phone call was ended abruptly. We tried calling him back several times thereafter, and he didn't return the call.
It's a question that Alisha's grieving family also wants to know.
We called two law agencies in town to ask them what they think about the situation. One said that if a person was in the same position as Guzman, it is possible that he could have been released the same day. The agency would have slapped the driver with a DUI charge, opened an investigation, and then later on added a homicide charge in court.
The second agency said there is no way that guy should've been walking. The agency said it could take up to two weeks to get an accurate blood alcohol level read, but if a suspected drunk driver killed someone, it's just too serious. That driver should be taken to jail and not let out on the streets.
http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/dpp/news/crime/late-timing-of-dui-arrest-questioned-11-3-2010
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Joe Arpaio's Guards Break Woman's Arm, ICE Releases Her on Own Recognizance
 |
| Maria del Carmen Garcia Martinez, after being released from ICE custody. |
Immigration and Customs Enforcement released a suspected illegal immigrant Thursday night after it was determined that her arm had been broken while she was in MCSO custody.
Maria del Carmen Garcia Martinez was released on her own recognizance, her left arm slung in a cast after she received treatment at St. Joseph's. She had been turned over to ICE earlier in the day by the MCSO. ICE took her to St. Joseph's for medical attention, photographed her injuries and released her with a pending court date around 8 p.m. from its offices on Central Ave.
 |
| Martinez, being greeted by her family outside ICE's Central Avenue HQ. |
Martinez, 46, was met by her family, Respect/Respeto activist Lydia Guzman and a couple of reporters, including yours truly. Her left arm was swollen as was her leg and ankle. As her daughter Sandra translated, she explained that she was recently arrested by the Phoenix Police Department, after she was questioned about posting signs for a yard sale.
She said she was arrested for a having a fraudulent I.D., even though her I.D. was an out-of-date I.D. card from California, according to her. Martinez was then collared and booked into MCSO custody.
(Oddly, the Phoenix PD's on-call spokesperson, an Officer Holmes, said he could find no record of Martinez in their system.)
While in custody at Lower Buckeye Jail, Martinez said she was brutalized by six MCSO detention officers, who were trying to get her to put her fingerprints on a voluntrary removal order, a document wherein an undocumented foreign national gives his or her consent to be repatriated.
(Lydia Guzman asserted that sometimes MCSO will attempt to get a fingerprint instead of a signature for the VR form. An ICE spokesman had no immediate explanation for this procedure.)
Martinez refused, as was her right, but the officers tried to force her, she said. They stepped on her, twisted her arm, and beat her. She noticed that one of the officers was Hispanic.
"Why are you doing this to me, when you came from Mexico also," she told the Hispanic guard.
She was placed in a cell by herself, and later that night she was visited by eight MCSO officers, who warned her to sign the VR, or, "We're all going to get you," she said they told her.
Martinez's right hand was swollen, and stained with blue ink.
A fellow inmate advised Martinez's daughter that her mother had been beat down. She feared for her mother's life, and advised her lawyers, who filed an emergency stay on Martinez's behalf.
According to her daughter Sandra, Martinez was a housemom, who stayed home and took care of the family. Martinez's husband works as a handyman. They came here three years ago from California, looking for a less expensive way of life.
"I'm proud of her, and I'm glad that she's out," said Sandra, her eyes welling with tears. "I couldn't sleep. I would think of her, and cry every night because I missed her so much."
Ironically, because the MCSO has apparently abused her, Martinez may get to stay in this country permanently, noted Guzman, who has been following the case since Martinez was arrested.
For updates on this item, check this related Bird column, and this Feathered Bastard blog update.
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/03/joe_arpaios_goons_break_womans.php
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)