2013 Law and Order Archive Stories

UPDATED 6:45 p.m.: A wildfire along the Colorado River has charred 500 to 1,000 acres in the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge and the Picacho State Recreation Area. As of Monday afternoon, it was reported as about 50 percent contained. The fire is burning primarily salt cedar and phragmites about 25 miles north of Yuma. Accordin

Charges were filed in Yuma County Justice Court Monday against the man and woman arrested in connection with a recent gang-related attempted homicide. In a brief arraignment hearing, Yuma Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart told 32-year-old Miguel "Capone" Rodriguez that the Yuma County Attorney’s Office had decided to charge him wit

Rural/Metro’s Brian Wolgamot and Dustin Gray, along with Yuma Fire Department’s Jordan Bowers and Ashley Taylor were recognized as the Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians and Emergency Medical Dispatchers of the Year during a ceremony at Fire Station 3 in recognition of EMS Week.

A wildfire north of Picacho Peak had consumed about 300 acres as of Sunday night. Smoke could be seen from Yuma.The Island Lake Fire is burning completely inside Arizona and was zero percent contained as of about 9:30 p.m., according to the Rural/Metro Fire Department. The blaze is burning mostly to the north, following the river, an

Yuma police are looking for a shotgun-wielding mugger that they say robbed a pedestrian Friday night.According to the Yuma Police Department, the robbery happened at about 10:50 p.m. in the 2000 block of South 3rd Avenue. The victim was walking down the street when a white Ford Explorer with multiple people inside pulled alongside th

Police are investigating an attempted homicide and are asking the public to help identify potential suspects. According to the Yuma Police Department, on Wednesday night, officers were sent to the Yuma Regional Medical Center Emergency Room to speak with a 21-year-old man who was being treated for two gunshot wounds.The m

New court dates have been scheduled for two of the three suspects charged in connection to the March 22 killing of 28-year-old Christal Figueroa, whose body was found in a citrus grove near County 17th Street and Avenue 2E.Brandi Michalski, 24, and Andres Francisco Flores Galindo, 22, who both had court dates previously scheduled for

Dorothy Martin, 34, has been officially identified by police as the person who allegedly shot and killed 28-year-old Jennifer Rose Silva on Tuesday morning.Martin and Silva had been romantically involved in a domestic relationship at some point in the past, police said.Martin has been interviewed by detectives with the Yu

A judge on Thursday granted a request by a prosecutor from the Yuma County Attorney's Office to set $500,000 bonds for the man and woman arrested in connection with a recent gang-related attempted homicide. Prosecutor William Katz told the court that 40-year-old Misty Ann Martinez and 32-year-old Miguel “Capone” Rodriguez

The Yuma Area Peace Officers Memorial Service by the Fraternal Order of Police Yuma Lodge 24 was held Wednesday night at the Quartermaster Depot Park.

Family, friends and hundreds of colleagues all gathered at the Yuma Civic Center Wednesday morning to pay their respects to fallen Arizona Department of Public Safety officer Tim Huffman. "The risk that we as law enforcement officers have chosen to take to preserve and protect an environment, a system, a way of life, and the value we pla

A man and a woman wanted in connection with an attempted homicide have been arrested by police.At about 2:55 p.m. Wednesday, detectives with the Yuma Police Department found 40-year-old Misty Ann Martinez and 32-year-old Miguel “Capone” Rodriguez at a residence located at 1146 S. 7th Ave. and took them both into custody.

Yuma police have released more information on two women who died in separate incidents this week.In the first case, police have identified the woman whose body was found in a citrus grove Monday as 24-year-old Jessica Monique Sanchez.Police have not commented on a cause of death, but have deemed the incident as suspicious

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents arrested four suspected drug smugglers and seized about 442 pounds of marijuana Monday and Tuesday.The drugs have an estimated street value of $221,000.On Monday night, agents working southwest of Gila Bend apprehended a group of four men reportedly carrying 253 pounds of marijuana along a

An apartment and two vehicles were struck by bullets in one of two separate shootings this week, but no injuries were reported. At about 3:55 a.m. Wednesday, Yuma police officers were dispatched to an apartment complex in the 2200 block of South 1st Avenue to check on reports of an unknown person or persons firing multiple rounds into th

The tanker truck driver involved in a collision that killed a highway patrol officer last week on Interstate 8 was charged Tuesday with 19 felony offenses, including one count of second-degree murder. Wellton Justice of the Peace Russ Jones also informed Jorge Espinoza during his arraignment in Wellton Justice Court that prosecutors were

Yuma police are investigating a suspicious death after a body was discovered late Monday night in some orange groves in the area of County 16th Street and Avenue 3½E.According to Yuma Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Leanne Worthen, officers responded to the scene at about 11:42 p.m. and detectives remained on scene througho

A Yuma man was arrested Tuesday evening after agents with the Yuma County Narcotics Task Force (YCNTF) served a search warrant at his house and allegedly found about 46 grams of methamphetamine worth about $4,600, as well as several vials of testosterone.According to YCNTF, a tip suggesting illegal drug activity was taking place in t

A Level 3 sex offender with a high risk to reoffend has moved into a Yuma neighborhood.Joseph Stephen Hurtado, 55, is now residing at 2678 W. Clifford Lane. He is described as 5 feet 9 inches tall, 206 pounds, with black hair and black eyes. On Oct. 4, 1988, Hurtado was convicted in Maricopa County Superior Court of sexua

A Tuesday morning mobile home fire may have been intentionally ignited, officials say. According to the Yuma County Sheriff's Office, at about 3:50 a.m. deputies and emergency personnel with Rural/Metro were dispatched to the 400 block of South May Avenue.Upon arrival, deputies found a single-wide mobile home fully engulf

Agents from the Yuma County (Sheriff's Office) Narcotics Task Force acting on a tip arrested a 49-year-old Foothills man Saturday for allegedly selling drugs out of his residence.According to YCSO spokesman Capt. Eben Bratcher, members of the task force received a tip about possible sales of narcotics at 9675 S. Agate Way and began a

U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Yuma Sector arrested 12 alleged drug smugglers and seized a combined 564 pounds of marijuana over the weekend, while a Mexican man was arrested Friday at the U.S. Port of Entry at San Luis, Ariz. for reportedly attempting to smuggle approximately 295 pounds of marijuana into the country. According t

As a public service, the Yuma Sun is publishing the names and photographs of the following people sought by the Yuma County Adult Probation Department or the U.S. Marshals Service as probation absconders.If you have information that would lead to the arrest of any of them, call surveillance officer Beto Borquez at 329-2210, Ext. 2342

A criminal complaint was filed Friday afternoon in Yuma Justice Court against the Yuma man who was allegedly in possession of 31.4 grams of methamphetamine and $1,177 in cash when he was arrested, charging him with three felony offenses.Appearing before Justice of the Peace pro tem Yolonda Torok, in what was a brief three-minute hear

Yuma police are searching for two area residents in connection with a Wednesday night shooting that sent a woman to a Phoenix hospital. According to the Yuma Police Department, at about 10:35 p.m. officers were dispatched to the 600 block of East 25th Street in response to a report of gunshots. Once on scene, they found a 36-year-old wom