GOVERNMENT
Cover-up at Copper Sky A 14-year-old was assaulted on a basketball court. Someone tried to hide it
D
IRECTOR-LEVEL OF Maricopa employees conspired to cover up the assault of a middle school-aged boy at the Copper Sky CITY
Recreation Complex, allege the child’s parents, multiple witnesses and employees at the gym. An InMaricopa investigation dating back to July found at least two of the city employees presented false information about the assault and the investigation could spur criminal charges against a third man, the 43-year-old aggressor, the Maricopa police chief now indicates. Levi Donohue, 14, was playing pickup basketball on the facility’s indoor court July 16 with a mixed group of teen boys and adult men, including Anson Smith, who witnesses described as becoming livid when Donohue blocked his shot. “Out of anger,” said recreation specialist Alicia Ryles, “Anson pushed Levi to the ground.” Donohue, tall for his age but thin as a rail, weighed at least 100 pounds less than Smith, said his father, Dr. John Donohue, 60. “He knocked the breath out of him — he couldn’t breathe,” said John Donohue, who lives in Thunderbird Farms. “He slammed him to the ground. My son flew 10 feet.” These details are corroborated in a July 22 report undersigned by Recreation
BY ELIAS WEISS
Levi Donohue (left) is at the center of a controversy involving top city officials.
Superintendent David McLeish, which was leaked to InMaricopa by whistleblowers who work at Copper Sky after the city’s records administrator said no such report existed. ‘They can’t keep getting away with this’ In October, InMaricopa submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for “any and all incident reports, photographs and/or video footage originating from Copper Sky Recreational Complex involving Levi Donohue in 2024.” The records clerk, Andy Juarez, on Oct. 7
He slammed him to the ground. My son flew 10 feet.” DR. JOHN DONOHUE, LEVI’S FATHER
said: “The City of Maricopa does not have any incident reports, photographs and/or video footage of the individual in question.” But McLeish, who was contacted by Juarez in response to the FOIA request, verifiably had access to incident reports and video footage tagged with Levi Donohue’s name. A report with City of Maricopa letterhead described the incident as “serious.” “Alicia Ryles reviewed the camera footage ... you can see where Anson pushed Levi to the ground,” read one of the supposedly nonexistent reports signed by McLeish. Maricopa Police Department Officer Sonja Hoffmann also confirmed the existence of the video footage. Another recreation specialist who agreed to an interview under anonymity for fear of losing his job in retaliation said he believed the leaders in his department had made concerted efforts to shield the incident from the public gaze. “An old man did that to a little kid, and then came the cover-up,” the staffer said. “You can’t hide that. That’s breaking a federal law — you can’t lie to the press. You just can’t.” Smith, who is a construction site manager at Gehan Homes, according to his LinkedIn
Dr. John (right) and May McCarthy Donohue (left) photographed at Maricopa Kids Day.
InMaricopa.com | December 2024
December 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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