JACQUES BILLEAUD

Trial opens in lawsuit over ‘Frankenstein’ use of remains
A civil trial has begun over the mishandling of human remains at a now-closed Phoenix body donation facility. A lawsuit by relatives of 23 people accuses the Biological Resource Center of deceiving families about how the remains would be used.
October 28, 2019
Hearing examines video that wasn’t disclosed in terror case
A court hearing is focusing on the FBI’s failure to disclose surveillance video taken of two Phoenix men on the day before they left Arizona for Texas to attack a 2015 Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest.
October 15, 2019
Judge asks whether prison health care deal should be tossed
A judge who has criticized Arizona’s noncompliance with a legal settlement requiring better health care for prisoners has ordered lawyers in the case to say whether they want to throw out the deal and bring the case to trial.
October 14, 2019
Report: Health care in Arizona prisons underfunded
A court-appointed expert in a lawsuit over the quality health care in Arizona’s prisons says understaffing, inadequate funding and privatization of health care services are significant barriers in improving inmate care.
October 4, 2019
Arpaio makes comeback bid for sheriff’s post he lost in 2016
Joe Arpaio is running for his former job as the sheriff of metro Phoenix after getting trounced in 2016 by a little-known challenger. Arpaio says his comeback bid isn’t about clearing his name or avenging his last two election losses.
August 27, 2019
Prosecutors lose bid to seek death penalty against immigrant
Prosecutors have lost another bid to seek the death penalty against an immigrant from Mexico charged with murder in the 2015 shooting death of a convenience store clerk in metro Phoenix.
August 15, 2019
Migrant tries to keep death penalty off table in murder case
Lawyers for a Mexican immigrant charged with murder in the 2015 killing of a convenience store clerk are urging the Arizona Court of Appeals to reject an effort by prosecutors to seek the death penalty.
July 29, 2019
Official: Arizona to resume executions after 5-year hiatus
Attorney General Mark Brnovich says Arizona is poised to resume executions after a five-year hiatus.
July 26, 2019
Goodyear teacher gets 20 years for sexual abuse of boy
A former suburban Phoenix elementary school teacher avoided the maximum sentence for sexually abusing a 13-year-old student, including engaging in a sexual act in the presence of a second boy.
July 12, 2019
Prosecutors can’t seek execution in case against immigrant
A judge has ruled prosecutors can no longer seek the death penalty against a Mexican immigrant charged with murder in the 2015 killing of a convenience store clerk in Mesa because the accused is intellectually disabled.
July 5, 2019
More fines sought against Arizona in suit over inmate care
Attorneys challenging the quality of health care in Arizona prisons want another round of contempt-of-court fines against the state for failing to file monthly reports on its noncompliance with a settlement requiring improvements to inmate care.
July 3, 2019
Police: Man spread terror propaganda before officer attack
Police reports say an 18-year-old Islamic State follower who was shot after throwing rocks at and wielding a knife toward a sheriff’s sergeant in metro Phoenix had used text messages to spread terror propaganda.
June 21, 2019
Union casts no-confidence vote against Mesa police chief
The union for police employees in Mesa has cast an overwhelming no-confidence vote against Chief Ramon Batista, a decision the group’s president said was for condemning officers investigated on excessive-force allegations, being unwilling to listen to officers and driving down morale.
June 6, 2019
Attorneys say FBI withheld evidence in Islamic State case
Attorneys for a man convicted of providing guns to two Islamic State followers killed as they tried to attack a Prophet Muhammad cartoon contest in Texas claim authorities didn’t reveal until three years after his trial ended that the FBI placed a surveillance camera outside the plotters’ Phoenix ap
April 30, 2019
Ex-border officer who lied about citizenship gets probation
A former U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in Arizona was sentenced to a year of probation after pleading guilty to lying about his citizenship on a passport application.
April 2, 2019
Neo-Nazi gets life for killing woman in interracial couple
A jury has sentenced a neo-Nazi to life in prison for his murder conviction in the 2009 killing of a white woman during a dispute with her black boyfriend at a Phoenix park.
March 7, 2019
Court upholds car rental tax imposed in Maricopa County
The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a car rental tax surcharge that’s imposed in Maricopa County to pay for building a professional football stadium and other sports and recreational facilities.
February 25, 2019
Video shows attack on officer by accused ISIS follower
A video released by authorities in metro Phoenix shows an avowed follower of the Islamic State throwing rocks at and wielding a knife toward a sheriff’s sergeant before the officer shot his attacker.
February 15, 2019
Agency defends officers who used stun gun on handcuffed man
Officials at a police department in metro Phoenix defended its officers who were captured on a body-camera video repeatedly shooting a handcuffed man with a stun during an encounter in a motel parking lot.
February 12, 2019
Desert attraction temporarily closes after 4 dolphin deaths
Dolphinaris Arizona says it will close temporarily as a panel of experts investigates potential factors in the death of four dolphins.
February 8, 2019
Prosecutors urge court to uphold Jodi Arias’ conviction
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office says the prosecutor who won a guilty verdict against Jodi Arias in the 2008 death of her former boyfriend made mistakes at trial that should be outweighed by overwhelming evidence of her guilt.
January 25, 2019
Neo-Nazi convicted in killing of woman in interracial couple
A neo-Nazi has been convicted of murder and other charges for trying to kill a black man and fatally shooting the man’s white girlfriend after a 2009 dispute at a Phoenix park.
January 10, 2019
8 people, including 4 migrants in US illegally, die in crash
Eight people have been killed in a head-on crash on an Arizona highway, and four of them were immigrants in the country illegally.
September 20, 2018
Request to send voter-registration mailers in Arizona denied
A judge has rejected a request by voting-rights groups to force Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan to send mailers to thousands of voters saying that their registration may be out of date.
September 19, 2018
Former CEO of transit system pleads guilty to fraud charge
The former chief executive of metro Phoenix’s mass transit system pleaded guilty Monday to a fraud charge for falsely claiming personal expenses for him and his wife as business costs.
September 10, 2018
Indictment levels new charges against Backpage.com officials
A new indictment in Arizona against operators of Backpage.com alleges the classified ad site gave free ads to prostitutes in a bid to get their future business.
July 27, 2018
ACLU spends $720K in opposition to Joe Arpaio’s Senate bid
The American Civil Liberties Union is spending $720,000 in the U.S. Senate race in Arizona to send people into neighborhoods to hand out fliers and run a TV commercial critical of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
July 25, 2018
Retrial for neo-Nazi in death of woman in interracial couple
Prosecutors said Wednesday a neo-Nazi charged with shooting at an interracial couple, killing a woman, will be tried again after a judge declared a mistrial because a witness revealed that the white supremacist had spent time in prison.
July 18, 2018
Appeal by Jodi Arias cites ‘circus-like atmosphere’ at trial
Attorneys for Jodi Arias say in an appeal of her murder conviction that a judge’s failure to control news coverage during her salacious case deprived her of the right to a fair trial.
July 7, 2018
Town drops appeal of overhaul ordered in discrimination case
One of two towns on the Arizona-Utah border that was found to have discriminated against people who weren’t members of a polygamous sect has dropped its appeal of a court-ordered overhaul of government operations.
June 15, 2018
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