A monthslong investigation of sushi restaurants in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Gilbert and Mesa resulted in arrests for harboring undocumented people in stash houses.
A probable cause statement says search warrants were served this month.
Now police say an alleged restaurant owner and manager each face criminal complaints for a pattern and practice of knowingly hiring undocumented people.
The alleged manager is also accused by police of being a caretaker at one of four stash houses where unauthorized workers lived.
Police in Tempe reportedly received complaints about one of the houses, where workers were seen leaving and returning in the same van.
The alleged owner and manager are due in court on Dec. 30.
More criminal justice news
-
It appears there’s progress being made in budget talks between Republican legislative leaders and Governor Katie Hobbs. But a recent court ruling could add another wrinkle into those negotiations.
-
Arizona is scheduled to execute by lethal injection a man in his 60s on Wednesday morning in Florence.
-
Violence erupted among prisoners at the Arizona State Prison Complex-Eyman late last month. Multiple people were injured, and Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association President Carlos Garcia called it a “full-blown riot.”
-
The Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations does not have an on-site medical examiner, forcing criminal investigators to take on duties they are not properly trained for and slowing down murdered and missing Indigenous persons investigations.
-
Arizona ranks ninth in the U.S. for number of incarcerated women. Most are moms, and many have histories of drug addiction, mental illness and physical or sexual abuse. And when it's time to come home — and many will — the work to repair those bonds can feel impossible without support.