It’s been nearly a year since teenager Preston Lord was beaten to death in a gang-style assault in Queen Creek.
Now Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell is proposing greater penalties for participants of group violence. She wants to work with Arizona lawmakers to create a new category of crime called “swarming.”
“This is for the most part what we have been seeing in recent cases of teen violence. Three, four, five or more people targeting one person," Mitchell said.
Possible bill language would make an assault committed by three or more people a higher class felony, making it harder for charges to be reduced.
More law enforcement news
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In March, Todd Maddox, 59, was arrested after museum staff witnessed him breaking off pieces of a marble wall and throwing them at the large red sculpture called "Jurassic Age.” -
Here’s a story that sounds like sci-fi: Every law enforcement agency in Cochise County will soon use iris scanning technology to identify people. -
Police are continuing to investigate the death of a man with developmental disabilities who was found inside a vehicle parked outside a Mesa adult care facility. -
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego wants the police department to process public records requests faster. -
The Mesa Police Department confirmed 36-year-old Lorenzo Lopez was found inside a vehicle on Thursday at ITC Personal In-Home Care facility, which also goes by the name Pathways for Life.
