More Tires Slashed - Mesa PD Needs Your Help

Thanksgiving Holiday Spoiler....

Last night, November 27, 2013 at approximately 11:00pm, Mesa Officers responded to 625 W. Posada in reference to a criminal damage call where a vehicle’s tires had been slashed.  This is the same area where several vehicle tires were slashed on November 11, 2013.

 

Officers flooded the entire area and in the course of their investigation were able to locate a total of 20 vehicles with tires that were slashed or cut.  Three of the victims had more than one vehicle damaged.  Some of the vehicles were also damaged in the previous incidents on 11/11/2013.   We believe the suspects probably live in this area and are hoping that someone may have noticed them walking in the area last night. 

 

We have not been able to develop any other suspect information at this time.  Officers saturated that area for about 3 hours last night and were not able to locate anything or anyone of value to this crime series.  If anyone has any information in this case, they are encouraged to contact the Mesa Police Department at 480-644-2211 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.

Operation Fade to Black Friday a Success

On November 22 and 23, the Mesa Police Department partnered with our local retailers to address holiday shoplifting. “Operation Fade to Black Friday” was a combined effort by the Mesa Police Department and local retailers to reduce shoplift crimes this holiday season. This type of theft negatively impacts retailers as they attempt to keep affordable merchandise on the shelves for their customers. The Superstition Patrol District of the Mesa Police Department identified that over the previous two years, the month of December has seen an approximate 25% increase in shoplifts when compared to other months in the year.

In an effort to reduce this crime trend, the Mesa Police Department assigned ten detectives to the operation with a goal of identifying repeat offenders and retail theft rings. The Maricopa County and the City of Mesa prosecutor's offices are closely working together with the police department in the prosecution of the arrested subjects. We partnered with several local retailers to include CVS Pharmacy, Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart and Home Depot among others. Michael DeAngelis, Public Relations Director from CVS Pharmacy, provided the following statement:

“Shoplifting is an industry wide issue that affects all retailers. CVS/Pharmacy is committed to cooperating with law enforcement and other retailers to prevent shoplifting in our stores and to apprehend suspects. We appreciate the efforts of the Mesa Police Department to curb shoplifting incidents during the busy holiday season. Our efforts to prevent shoplifting are designed to help keep products available and affordable for customers to purchase.”

Mesa Police and our partners believe Operation Fade to Black was a success. This holiday season, the partnership plans to conduct similar operations in Mesa and other locations in the Valley. To our shoppers, know that we are out there watching over you. To those who would seek to victimize our shoppers or retailers, the Mesa Police Department is serving handcuffs, jail cells and cold sandwiches this holiday season.

The past weekend's operation resulted in a total of sixteen arrests. Of these subjects

• three had a past history of shoplifting;
• three had active warrants for their arrest;
• three were in possession of drugs;
• one individual was released from Arizona Department of Corrections five days before their arrest;
• $1,863.00 worth of merchandise was recovered or thwarted from being stolen from retailers;
• $696.00 was the largest shoplift apprehension;
• three new investigations were begun due the operation.

24 Hour Exceptional Incident Report

DUI & Warrant Arrest
On November 25 at 6:54 am, an officer attempted a traffic stop on a maroon Ford Expedition in the 2500 block of East Southern, after seeing the vehicle stop in the center lane of Southern and pick up a pedestrian. The officer ran the plate on the vehicle and found that the registered owner had active warrants. The officer turned on his emergency lights and activated his siren; the vehicle began to drive west bound on Southern ignoring the officer's attempt to stop it. The officer deactivated lights/siren, but continued to follow the vehicle; the vehicle eventually pulled over. The driver was detained for the warrants and was then investigated for DUI DRE with the strong smell of marijuana coming from the vehicle. The driver admitted to smoking marijuana earlier that morning and was later arrested for DRE and for the confirmed warrants.

Theft on September 23, 2013

On September 23, 2013 at 2:00 pm, the suspect entered the Sprint store at 1639 S Stapley Drive, looked around, took some items that were on display and ran from the store. He was seen getting into a Silverado style vehicle that was waiting down the street. A second theft occurred at a nearby T-Mobile store approximately 1 week later and the suspect was seen getting into a van nearby. The suspect is described as a Hispanic or Native American male, 5'10" to 5'11" tall, 200 lbs.  Last seen wearing a red baseball cap, white T-shirt and black basketball shorts.

Please submit any information regarding the crime or identity of the suspect(s) through the “Submit a Tip” option at www.CrimeReports.com or text information to 274-637 (CRIMES). Begin your message with MESAPD. You can also call 480-644-2211 and select option 2. Refer to report number 20132630440.

Armed Robbery on September 9, 2013

On September 9, 2013 at 8:10 pm, the suspect entered the Walmart located at 1606 S Signal Butte and tried to make a fraudulent return. When asked by a store employee to step into an office, the suspect threatened the employee with a weapon and ran out an exit in an unknown direction. The suspect is described as a White male, 18-20 years old, 5'7" to 5'9" tall, 120 lbs., black shaggy hair, scruffy goatee and mustache. Suspect was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, blue jeans. He possibly had a band-style tattoo on his right arm.

Please submit any information regarding the crime or identity of the suspect(s) through the “Submit a Tip” option at www.CrimeReports.com or text information to 274-637 (CRIMES). Begin your message with MESAPD. You can also call 480-644-2211 and select option 2. Refer to report number 20132790539.

Vehicle Burglary on September 29, 2013

On September 29, 2013 at 12:15 pm, at the Walmart located at 1606 S. Signal Butte, three suspects parked near and stole items from the victim's vehicle.

Please submit any information regarding the crime or identity of the suspect(s) through the “Submit a Tip” option at www.CrimeReports.com or text information to 274-637 (CRIMES). Begin your message with MESAPD. You can also call 480-644-2211 and select option 2. Refer to report number 20132720391.

Armed Robbery on October 5, 2013

On October 5, 2013 at 11:15 am, the victim was walking on 8th Avenue heading toward Dobson Road when two suspects drove up and asked the victim a question. When the victim declined, the suspects got out of their car and suspect #1 threatened the victim with a gun while suspect #2 physically injured the victim and stole the victim's cell phone. Suspect #1 is described as a Black male, 20-30 years old, 6' tall, 150 lbs. with a dark complexion, black hair shaved on the sides, mustache, facial hair on chin, thin arched eyebrows, "big eyes," crooked front teeth and unknown tattoos on both forearms and hands. Last seen wearing a baggy, light gray T-shirt, blue jeans, red "New Era" style baseball hat, large stud earrings in both ears. Suspect #2 is described as a Black male, 20 years old, 6' tall, 170 lbs., medium brown complexion, thin, groomed sideburns, mustache, dermal stud piercing on upper left cheekbone, stud earrings in both ears, black "New Era" style baseball hat. This suspect was last seen wearing a dark T-shirt, black jeans, silver chain necklace, unknown tattoo on the top of his left hand near thumb.

Please submit any information regarding the crime or identity of the suspect(s) through the “Submit a Tip” option at www.CrimeReports.com or text information to 274-637 (CRIMES). Begin your message with MESAPD. You can also call 480-644-2211 and select option 2. Refer to report number 20132780263.
 

Bank Robbery from October 15, 2013

On October 15, 2013, the suspect entered the Chase Bank located inside Fry's at 554 W. Baseline Road, approached a teller and demanded money. The suspect left on foot after obtaining an undisclosed amount of money. The suspect is described as a White male, 25-35 years old, 6' 4" tall, 250 lbs. He was last seen wearing over-sized black zip up sweater, white baseball cap with a skull emblem or type of design, black fanny pack. Suspect also has a circular tattoo on the right side of his neck.

Please submit any information regarding the crime or identity of the suspect(s) through the “Submit a Tip” option at www.CrimeReports.com or text information to 274-637 (CRIMES). Begin your message with MESAPD. You can also call 480-644-2211 and select option 2. Refer to report number 20132880342.

Keep Your Holidays Grinch-Free with These Safety Tips!

These tips are for everyone and there are also tips specific to business owners. Click here or on the graphic below to be taken to the Holiday Safety Tips page!

Robbery Suspect Attacks Officer and Goes to Jail

On November 20 at 6:38 pm, Isac Morris, 32, stole a $5.00 bottle of MD 20-20 from the A&E Market on South Mesa Drive, flipping off the clerks as he walked passed the registers. When the male and female owners/victims tried to stop him outside, Morris assaulted both of them and fled on foot. About 40 minutes later, police received a call of a man, who matched Morris's description, screaming obscenities and breaking glass in the roadway in the 700 block of East Broadway. One officer arrived and believed him to be the robbery suspect. When he confronted Morris, Morris charged the officer and tried to assault him. Morris was taken to the ground and placed into custody without further incident. Morris was identified as the robbery suspect. The glass he broke in the street was the bottle of MD 20-20 he stole earlier. Morris was booked on Robbery and Resisting Arrest charges. Great job by our officer facing an aggressive robbery suspect and taking him into custody without injury to himself, the suspect or innocent citizens.

Murder/Suicide Prevented

On the afternoon of November 13, 2013 Mesa detectives received information that the suspect, Carlos Hillan, age 34, was planning a domestic violence murder/suicide similar to one we saw in Phoenix two days prior. In that case, the suspect killed his wife and family. He also set his wife’s body on fire before killing himself. Fortunately, a roommate/co-worker became aware of his intentions and called the police.

The suspect was taken into custody at his estranged wife’s house while he was waiting for her to arrive home from work. He was arrested jumping the back wall of the house with a gas can in hand and lighter on his person. When later interviewed, he admitted to his plan and also said that he was going to kill his wife’s current boyfriend and potentially harm their 3-year-old daughter. The mother and daughter were not injured and the suspect was been booked on two counts of Attempted First Degree Murder, Attempted Arson and Burglary. During an interview after his arrest, he admitted to his plan to kill his estranged wife and her boyfriend.

This is another tremendous example of “If you see something, say something.” Had the roommates not taken action and called the police it seems clear that we would be talking about another tragedy today. There are not words to describe the immediate and dedicated work of the detectives and officers who stopped this crime before it happened.

24 Hour Exceptional Incident Report

On November 12 at about 1:30 am, officers attempted a traffic stop on a suspect who was riding a motorcycle and seen committing a civil traffic violation in the area of Country Club and McKellips.

The motorcycle failed to yield and the suspect fled eastbound on the Red Mountain Freeway (202) at a high rate of speed. Officers obtained the motorcycles registration information, ultimately enabling them to locate the suspect at his residence an hour later. The suspect admitted to knowing our officers were behind him attempting to conduct a traffic stop, but he said he could not afford another ticket and his license was suspended.

The suspect's motorcycle was located nearby parked on a residential street where the suspect was attempting to conceal it from police. The suspect was booked into the Mesa City Jail for Felony Unlawful Flight.

24 Hour Exceptional Incident Report

On November 6 at 7:02 pm, a man was jay walking northbound across Broadway Road at Acacia when he was struck by a 2007 Chevy pick-up truck. The driver stated that he did not see the pedestrian until it was too late to stop or avoid him. The pedestrian was taken to hospital; it was reported that he tested positive for marijuana.  The driver was suspected of impairment, but subsequent evaluation did not show any signs of impairment; waiting for results of blood test.

Crime Stats - October 2013

The following are the top 5 calls for service and arrests for each patrol district -- 10/01/2013 through 10/31/2013.

* Please note: With the opening of the new substation, the Dobson District is now the Fiesta District.

FIESTA		CENTRAL
Call Type	Frequency	Call Type	Frequency
Check Welfare	399	Subjects Disturbing	389
Subjects Disturbing	380	Check Welfare	360
Loud Music/Noise	199	Other Agency Assist	223
Suspicious Activity	181	Warrant Arrest	191
Other Agency Assist	174	Loud Music/Noise	184
Arrests	Frequency	Arrests	Frequency
Robbery	1	Homicide	1
Aggravated Assault	4	Robbery	3
Breaking & Entering	6	Aggravated Assault	9
Theft	79	Breaking & Entering	11
GTA	3	Theft	69
Alcohol/DUI	70	GTA	1
Other Assaults	26	Alcohol/DUI	73
Disorderly Conduct	20	Other Assaults	49
Drugs	53	Disorderly Conduct	34
Fiscal/Forgery	12	Drugs	63
Loitering/Runaway	4	Fiscal/Forgery	20
Vandalism	12	Loitering/Runaway	20
All Other	168	Sex Offenses	9
		Vandalism	20
		All Other	279
TOTAL	458	TOTAL	661

RED MOUNTAIN		SUPERSTITION
Call Type	Frequency	Call Type	Frequency
Subjects Disturbing	399	Check Welfare	314
Check Welfare	388	Subjects Disturbing	243
Loud Music/Noise	225	Burglary Alarm	203
Burglary Alarm	219	Suspicious Activity	190
Suspicious Activity	213	Other Agency Assist	185
Arrests	Frequency	Arrests	Frequency
Homicide	3	Rape	1
Robbery	7	Robbery	2
Aggravated Assault	13	Aggravated Assault	5
Breaking & Entering	2	Breaking & Entering	2
Theft	75	Theft	74
GTA	1	Alcohol/DUI	53
Alcohol/DUI	67	Other Assaults	25
Other Assaults	47	Disorderly Conduct	17
Disorderly Conduct	38	Drugs	26
Drugs	56	Fiscal/Forgery	12
Fiscal/Forgery	2	Loitering/Runaway	5
Loitering/Runaway	6	Sex Offenses	2
Sex Offenses	1	Vandalism	11
Vandalism	10	All Other	85
All Other	150
TOTAL	488	TOTAL	320