SPORTS
PUBLIC SAFETY
DEADLY AND DISTURBING CRIMES 5
GOOD SPORTS: Maricopa High School's baseball team earned the AIA 6A Sportsmanship Award for a consistent display of integrity and good character. Every year, umpires vote on teams that exemplify outstanding conduct, fair play and respectful behavior. The award was validation that the team is doing something right. Last season, the Rams went 12-9 and finished fourth in their conference.
COLLEGE BOUND: Maricopa High School basketball players Andrew Hoxie and Triston Walters signed national letters of intent to play at the next level. Walters officially pledged to Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Hoxie, a Rams small forward, committed to Phoenix Prep. MHS’s Sapphira Reyes signed to play basketball at Benedictine College in Mesa, while Josh Garcia will play soccer at Paradise Valley Community College. BIG PAPA PICKLE: Three teams from the Province 55-plus community earned Arizona Pickleball Players League state titles during a tournament at Dave White Park in Casa Grande. In women’s play, The Province Hot Shots won 23-20 in the state-championship match. The Red Hot Picklers won the championship match 24-23 after a 23-22 victory in the semis. On the men’s side, Province Gold won its championship with a 28-15 victory. During the season, 371 teams with nearly 4,000 players competed in the Arizona Pickleball Players League.
Teen killed after shooting cop June 28
He threatened to kill baby used as human shield Aug. 22
He secretly filmed his grandchildren nude Sept. 5 A trip to grandpa’s house led to the disturbing discovery of a “spy camera” in the bathroom — loaded with nude videos of his family members. Maricopa police arrested 71-year-old James H. Schmoker
She burned the family dog alive Dec. 12
The suspect killed in a June officer-involved shooting was a minor. The shooting occurred around 1:30 a.m. on a Wednesday night in June after officers responded to a call of three people breaking into vehicles in Tortosa. One suspect shot an officer during a foot pursuit in the fields north of the neighborhood on the Gila River Indian Community. Another officer shot the same suspect, who died on the way to a hospital. Police confirmed the deceased was a 17-year-old boy. MPD arrested and jailed another 17-year-old boy. That teen faced three felony charges: armed robbery, burglary in the third degree, and criminal
MPD arrested 39-year-old Ambria R. Garcia and accused her of burning the family dog alive in a firepit, killing her. Garcia admitted to pouring gasoline on her dog and setting her on fire. She told police the five-year-old Shih Tzu named Missy was a “possessed rat.” She said she wanted to prevent Missy from hurting anyone and “needed to handle this problem as soon as possible.” Garcia believed she released a demon from the dog while burning her. Garcia’s husband said he witnessed his wife light the live dog on fire, dance around and laugh, through a security camera. Officers found a red gasoline container near the firepit and a “charred Shih Tzu" inside. Garcia was charged with one felony count of animal cruelty.
A man accused of brutally beating his girlfriend and
roommate was arrested after barricading himself and using a baby as a shield. MPD arrested 32-year-old Brennan D. Cheromiah after a standoff lasted more than an hour in Rancho El Dorado. His girlfriend said Cheromiah choked, kicked and bit her. Cops noted an injured eye and bite marks on her arms. A roommate said Cheromiah dragged his girlfriend through the house and kicked her while she was curled up on the floor. Cheromiah allegedly punched his roommate in the throat and threatened to kill a child in the home. Cheromiah barricaded himself in the home and used a baby as a human shield to evade arrest. After an hour- long standoff, officers tased him and took him into custody. Cheromiah’s girlfriend was hospitalized and treated for serious injuries. His case is pending.
WINNING WAYS: The Heritage baseball team won its second-straight state baseball title. The Heritage boys also repeated as state wrestling champs. Heritage rode the crest of a 15-0 season to win its second state softball title in the Canyon Athletic Association D2 Sahuaro conference.
after two grandchildren stumbled across a hidden camera.
The grandchildren — police did not disclose their ages — told officers they were visiting from out of state when they found a USB wall charger with a small lens plugged into a bathroom outlet. They said they found a memory card in the device that contained a stockpile of videos of family members using the toilet and showering. Both victims said they saw videos of themselves on the memory card. Schmoker admitted to buying the device and installing it in the bathroom. A detective reviewed the memory card and saw several videos of nude people who did not know they were being recorded from two different bathrooms. Schmoker was charged with one felony count of surreptitious recording, a charge
LOSING STREAK: Sequoia Pathway Academy’s football team started 0-4 and had to cancel the rest of its football season due to injuries. SKID SNAPPED: Maricopa High’s football team snapped a 19-game skid when it beat Browne (Phoenix) 49-7 in its second game of the season. The Rams went on to win four games in 2023. A FIRST: Desert Sunrise High snagged its first-ever football win in a 28-12 victory over Alhambra (Phoenix). Desert Sunrise, a school in its second year of operation, finished the season 1-9. LEAGUE TITLE: Maricopa High won a girls’ soccer conference title with a perfect 5-0 record. The Rams won nine of their last 10 games to finish the season at 12-4-2.
SCORING MACHINE: MHS alum Jacob Cowing starred as one of the top receivers at the University of Arizona and earned a spot at the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Cowing finished the regular season with 696 receiving yards, fewer than the 1,034 yards he racked up in 2022. However, Cowing has proven to be quite the scoring threat, scoring 11 touchdowns this year, an increase from the previous year’s total of six. Cowing was second on the team in touch-
HOT STREAK: Maricopa High School’s softball team went 24-9 and finished the season third in its conference. The Rams caught fire midway through the season, going nearly a month without a loss. The Rams won 11 straight games during the streak, which started after a 9-0 loss to Millennium in mid-March. That same day, Maricopa responded with an 18-0 win over Agua Fria. Maricopa outscored its opponents 138-32 during the streak. SOCCER STAR: Maricopa High School soccer standout Abigail Kuehnl signed a letter of intent to play at Division I University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee.
damage along with three misdemeanor charges of
criminal trespassing, criminal nuisance and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The third suspect is 20-year- old Jose Martinez of Phoenix, who was taken into custody by Gila River Police Department.
Murdered woman found in landfill Dec. 12
Homestead resident Crystal Uptain, 38, was found murdered
downs, behind
WELL-SPIKED: Maricopa High School’s girls’ volleyball team finished second in league play with a 6-4 record and were 13-14-2 overall. The boys finished second with a 6-4 record and were 19-6 overall.
at a landfill in Mobile last month. She was reported
quarterback Noah Fifita, who had 25.
Editor’s Note: All statements of fact are attributable to probable cause statements obtained from the Maricopa Police Department.
missing to Maricopa police in November. As of publication time, no one has been arrested or named a suspect in her murder — the first and only in Maricopa in 2023.
that carries a presumptive sentence of 18 months in prison.
Scan code for more disturbing and bizarre crimes.
InMaricopa.com | January 2024
January 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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