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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Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller told reporters CBP has seized 50,000 pounds of fentanyl over the last two years — including a historic seizure in August of roughly 4 million pills at the Lukeville Port of Entry. -
An Arizona border sheriff is calling on voters to oppose a broad border security measure referred to the ballot by Republican lawmakers. -
The Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center reported that it received 130 school threats in the span of 20 days last month. That’s compared to 177 for the first eight months of the year. -
No one was inside the building in Tempe, and no injuries were reported in any of the shootings. The latest incident occurred Sunday, when someone fired shortly after midnight at the door and windows of the office. -
Democrat Tyler Kamp and Republican Jerry Sheridan agree on two things: Filling all those vacancies is critical. And so is finding a way to get out from under the court order that requires federal monitoring of the sheriff’s office. They disagree, though, on who is best qualified to accomplish those tasks.
