Pinal County Emergency Management and the elected officials of Pinal County are providing the following update on the response to the Shipman Fire burning near Kearny.  The fire began around 5:00 PM on Monday, July 8 and continues to burn.  Crews have established a fire line intended to protect the Town of Kearny but as of press time have a containment level of about 5 percent.  Fire behavior, wind and weather conditions continue to be closely monitored with multiple local and wildland fire crews battling the fire.

The Blue Distinction® Designation Aids Consumers and Employers in Choosing High-Performing Hospitals

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona* has named both San Tan Valley Chamber of Commerce member, Mountain Vista Medical Center, and St. Luke’s Medical Center as a Blue Distinction Center+ in the area of Knee and Hip Replacement. 

The Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority voted unanimously to approve the City of Apache Junction as the sixth member government in the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport Authority.

Mesa, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Phoenix and the Gila River Indian Community comprise the remaining membership. Each member government has a single Board seat and vote.

Gateway Board Chairman and Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said “We are excited to see Apache Junction become a participating member of the Gateway Airport and to take an active role in planning its future.”

An early-morning fire destroyed this mobile home in Apache Junction on Tuesday.

A family lost all it had after a fire destroyed a mobile home in Apache Junction early Tuesday morning.

The fire broke out on one end of the mobile home around midnight, and nine members of the family were left without a home, said Brian Gomez of the Grand Canyon Chapter of the American Red Cross.

On Thursday, August 1st, 2013 at 1 a.m. deputies from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence in the 11000 block of North Glyde Drive located outside the city limits of Maricopa in reference to a reported missing person.

The US Marshals Service Violent Offender Taskforce – Pinal apprehended Joshua Angell, 31, on Thursday as a result of a June 5 indictment, filed by the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, for child abuse involving his 4 year old daughter.

According to the Probable Cause statement, the alleged child abuse occurred on April 20, 2013.  Records state that Angell was “celebrating ‘4-20’” by smoking “high-grade weed” and after his daughter soiled herself, he picked her up by the throat to change and clean her and her face struck a door jamb causing injury to her cheek and eye area. 

Family Services of the Conciliation Court (FSCC) in Pinal County has a long history of providing crucial court-based and child-focused services.  These services are provided to families as they work through the challenging issues of parenting through family conflicts surrounding separation and divorce.  With approximately 125,000 people living in Casa Grande and surrounding cities, the decision to bring those services closer to home was a major goal for FSCC Director Billie Jo Garcia and Judge McCarville, Presiding Family Court and Conciliation Court Judge.

One home has been lost as firefighters battle a new wildfire that has triggered the evacuation of a trailer park in Kearny in Pinal County, the Arizona State Forestry Division said.

The Shipman Fire stood at 300 acres just before 9 p.m. Monday and was being fought with multiple resources, including six engines, heavy air tankers and a bulldozer, officials said.

On Friday, Pinal County Attorney Voyles announced that John Alvarez, who severely abused his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son, was sentenced to 40 years of prison.

Alvarez served as primary caregiver for the victim while the mother was at work and on December 21, 2009, he caused the 2 year-old’s lumbar spine to fracture and dislocate.  When the child’s mother returned home from work that night, she took the child to an urgent care facility.  The victim was later transported to Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where, in addition to the spinal fracture and dislocation, doctors discovered he suffered 16 further fractures and additional serious, unspeakably painful internal injuries.

With the safety of court records paramount, the office of the Clerk of the Superior Court has identified a security issue within the Case Management System (CMS) for Pinal County and has taken a broad measure to secure sealed documents. The issue may extend to other counties who also use the CMS known as AJACS. 

On July 2nd, City of Maricopa Police Detective Jose Lizarraga, 45, was arrested for fraudulent schemes, forgery, tampering with public records, attempted money laundering, and theft.

Pinal County Attorney Lando Voyles requested the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office initiate an investigation into Lizarraga.  After becoming aware of various irregularities with the detective’s activities while on duty, the Sheriff’s Office decided to ask the Federal Bureau of Investigations for additional assistance.  The City of Maricopa Police Department was made aware of the investigation and continues to fully cooperate.

Phoenix Mart, LLC is pleased to announce the recent hire of Tom Johnston who will join the PhoenixMart team as the Senior Vice President of Leasing and Sales. Johnston’s proven background in managing a large and profitable real estate services company as well as his vast experience within the commercial real estate industry will help PhoenixMart become the premiere venue for businesses on an international scale.

“We could not be more excited to get Tom on board to lead our Leasing and Sales team”, said Steve Betts, CEO of PhoenixMart. “TJ joining PhoenixMart, with his stellar reputation in the real estate community, provides further validation of our project and business model. But more importantly, his leadership, leasing/sales experience, and creativity will ensure the successful opening of PhoenixMart in 2014.”

The return vote by mail envelope for Pinal County has been redesigned to provide a greater degree of privacy. The voter's signature will no longer be visible to the public and is now protected by the outer envelope.  The new ballot return envelopes will be used for the first time in upcoming school board override elections.

On Friday, October 11th, 2013 at 11:23 p.m. the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call related to an accidental shooting in the 10200 block of North Highway 79, Florence.

When deputies and medics arrived on scene, the victim Robert DeArman III (age 27 of Florence) was pronounced deceased. Robert had a single gunshot wound to the chest.

The Pinal County Domestic Violence Coalition is hosting its 18th annual conference at the Dolce Vita Resort in Apache Junction on Wednesday, October 23rd, from 7:30am - 4:30pm.

The Pinal County Juvenile Court Community Advisory Board (CAB), with sponsorship from the Pinal County Attorney's Office, will be hosting their 13th Annual Mock Trial Competition on March 13, 2015.

The Pinal County Attorney’s Office sets the bar for diversion programs by joining forces with Corrective Solutions, a diversion program administrator for prosecutorial municipalities across the country.

The Board of Supervisors was pleased to learn on Wednesday that Pinal County achieved a remarkable starting classification of "7" on its first ever acceptance into the Community Rating System (CRS) through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Sean Dugan, the owner of Sidewinder Dairy in Casa Grande, returned to the Board of Supervisors Feb 18th, with his request to use some of his land for outdoor medical marijuana grow sites.

The Pinal County Attorney’s Office sets the bar for diversion programs by joining forces with Corrective Solutions, a diversion program administrator for prosecutorial municipalities across the country.