2024 January InMaricopa Magazine

PUBLIC SAFETY

STRANGE AND SCARY INCIDENTS She ran herself over with her own car March 28 A woman driving through Senita ran over her own leg after failing to put her car in park when she got out to attend to puppies on the road. Maricopa Police, Fire and Medical were dispatched to Maricopa Groves Parkway near North Meghan Drive and learned the pedestrian who got hit was also the driver of the car. The woman, who told officers she saw puppies running in the road and got out to help them, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

COUNTERFEIT FAILS He fled cops on motorcycle bought with fake cash

Body found in roadside ditch July 25

Infant died in Hidden Valley crash Sept. 19

K9 KARMA HIGHLIGHT REEL The last year was a busy one for K9 cop Karma, a Belgian Malinois police dog who serves as a valued member of the Maricopa Police Department. Here are some of the officer’s exploits:

Maricopa police responded to a call of a body spotted in a drainage ditch near Maricopa- Casa Grande Highway and Stonegate Road. Shortly after arriving on scene, officers confirmed an adult woman had died. The woman’s body did not show any obvious signs of foul play. The Pinal County Medical Examiner retrieved the body and identified her as 47-year-old Melanie Pahe, a local resident.

Pinal County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a single- vehicle rollover crash at West Farrell and North Ralston Roads and found a vehicle with seven occupants. A 5-month-old baby boy was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. One adult female passenger was ejected from the vehicle. She sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital. No one was charged.

Maricopa police arrested Luis Gomez, 27, accusing him of buying a cycle

with counterfeit money with the intent of selling it for real cash. Cops responded to Rancho Mirage just after 10 a.m. after a Kawasaki motorcycle was

K9 made drug bust Feb. 8

K9 avenged her handler Oct. 17

reported stolen. Five minutes later, an officer saw Gomez on the motorcycle driving west on Honeycutt Road near North Porter Road. Gomez evaded police at first. Cops said Gomez jumped off the motorcycle and ran through the backyards of several houses before he was arrested near West Maricopa Avenue. Gomez, who was charged with auto theft, fraudulent schemes and unlawful flight, later told officers he met the seller to buy the motorcycle even though he believed it was listed above market value. He reportedly said he gave the seller $6,500 in fake cash and planned to sell it for $4,000.

A nighttime traffic stop led to the arrest of a man on multiple drug-related charges. MPD stopped Muktar M. Giundi, 37, near Fry’s Marketplace in a silver Chevrolet Malibu with expired tags. When Giundi denied a search of the vehicle, the officer deployed Karma for an “open-air sniff.” A positive alert to narcotics gave the cops probable cause to search the vehicle. Thanks to Karma’s detective work, the officer found a container with 35 fentanyl pills, a red straw, burnt tinfoil and a glass pipe with meth residue. MPD arrested Giundi on charges of possessing dangerous drugs and paraphernalia.

Police arrested 54-year-old Lawrence Bronson after he allegedly attacked an officer while resisting arrest. Cops tried to stop Bronson’s yellow sedan sporting expired tags near State Route 238 and Costa Brava Drive late at night. Police said Bronson ignored flashing lights and sirens and led them on a chase through Acacia Crossings, eventually pulling into a garage at West Miramar Drive. As he stepped out, cops told Bronson he was under arrest and gave him commands to turn around and place his hands behind his back. According to police, Bronson ran away in an “aggressive manner” and refused to get on the ground. As three cops tried to tackle Bronson to the ground, he attacked Officer Jake Gomez, bruising and lacerating his arm and knee. Karma avenged her human partner as she subdued Bronson, who continued to resist arrest until succumbing to the dog’s powerful jaws.

Palm tree farm burned for weeks July 30

Man found dead at Pacana Park Sept. 26

Unincorporated Maricopa suffered a palm tree fire that sparked in July and crackled until mid-August. A palm tree nursery in Thunderbird Farms — the same one that burned for several weeks the previous summer — totally charred to ash. Maricopa residents smelled smoke in town as plumes rained into their lawns and pools. Crews from at least three municipal, rural and Indian fire departments contained the fire and eventually extinguished it.

The body of Allen Moore Jr., a 51-year-old Maricopa resident who lived in the Villages, was discovered in Glennwilde. Residents found the body Sept. 24 on the greenbelt around Pacana Park near Centennial Drive and Falcon Lane.

During a stop for a registration violation near North John Wayne Parkway and Cobblestone Farms, Ulate, who was a passenger in the vehicle, gave cops a bogus name. Officers figured out his real identity and while they checked for warrants, Ulate resisted detainment and allegedly struck one officer in the face. Police tried to tase him but failed. During the scrap, Karma bit Ulate, subduing him as he was handcuffed. While in custody, Ulate spit in the K9 handler’s face. MPD arrested Ulate on charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest by fighting and false reporting.

2 drowned in swimming pools May 23

He considered murder in fake Rolex ruse

As Maricopans flocked to the pool to beat the summer heat, Maricopa Fire and Medical Department advised residents to be vigilant in and around water. It’s a heavy but timely topic. Maricopa saw two drowning deaths take place in 2023 — a 2-year-old girl who died in March after being pulled from a pool and a 55-year-old man in April. Drowning is the leading cause of death of children age 1-4, according to the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. Since 2018, Maricopa has experi- enced 16 drowning deaths. All but three were children.

A man claimed he was a scam victim — but he’s the one who ended up in jail after threatening murder. Robert Wyatt, 43, said he bought a fake Rolex for $5,000 and arranged to buy another one. He pulled a gun on the supposed counterfeiter. When police responded to the parking lot between McDonald’s and Dignity Health Urgent Care along John Wayne Parkway midafternoon, they found the two men behind the urgent care. After finding out the Rolex he bought was counterfeit, Wyatt set up a “ruse” to get his money back at gunpoint. When the watch dealer told Wyatt he did not have the money, Wyatt reportedly brandished a handgun and said he would “put a bullet in his head.” Wyatt, who was charged with weapons misconduct along with misdemeanor counts of lying and making threats, denied pulling the gun, but later admitted it to police along with the thoughts of killing the alleged counterfeiter.

K9 mauled cop fighter July 18

Stanley J. Ulate, 20, learned a lesson in “Karma” early one summer morning after a warrant check escalated into a tussle with police.

InMaricopa.com | January 2024

January 2024 | InMaricopa.com