Package Theft - Arrest

On December 14, 2019 Mesa Police Officers were dispatched to the area of 2900 E Pueblo for a report of a suspicious person possibly stealing packages from residential doorways. Officers located and contacted the suspect who was later identified as 37 year old Nicole Watson. Watson was caught with several packages in her possession that had just been stolen. She admitted to stealing the packages from multiple homes and was also found to be in possession of dangerous drugs. Nicole was charged with three counts of Theft, one count of Possession of a Dangerous Drug, and one count of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. The investigation also revealed she may have been involved in additional thefts and a stolen vehicle investigation out of Chandler.

On December 15, 2019 Officers located the stolen vehicle at the Home Depot at 435 S Val Vista and eventually arrested a male driver of that vehicle. Additional stolen packages were in the vehicle and have been returned to their original owners. The suspect in this stolen vehicle case was identified as 24 year old Alan Preciado-Cruz. Preciado-Cruz was charged with one count of Possession of Dangerous Drugs, and one count of Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Great work by all involved and happy the victims were able to get their packages back just before the holidays. If you see suspicious activity call and report it.

Alan Preciado-Cruz

Nicole Watson 

Operation Naughty List - Prostitution Arrests

The Mesa Police Department recently carried out Operation Naughty List, an undercover operation targeting the demand for sex crimes and human trafficking. Throughout the operational period, officers and undercover detectives were contacted by suspects who solicited and/or brokered deals for various sex acts and were subsequently arrested.

The Mesa Police Department routinely conducts operations of this type in a continuous effort to reduce the demand that fuels human sex trafficking from our community. The suspects in this operation ranged in age from 26 to 80 years old.

The Mesa Police Department partners with organizations and survivor advocates to assist victims who have been exploited or trafficked. If you have information about someone being trafficked, contact your local police department or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888. Their website is https://humantraffickinghotline.org/.
For more information about human exploitation and trafficking and how to help, please visit: http://mesaaz.gov/residents/police/departments-divisions/mesa-family-advocacy-center/heat

A Former Drug Cartel Member is Arrested for Homicide

Daniel Villalobos-Espinoza, (DOB 5/16/1995), was arrested by Mesa Police on December 4, 2019, at 557 S. Olive #A. He’s charged with first-degree murder in the death of Carlos Osuna-Apodaca on November 30, 2019, someone who had worked for the same drug cartels.

A witness said Daniel’s brother, Jesus Villalobos-Espinoza, stopped by the apartment to visit the victim but he went to his room. Shortly after, the witness heard two gunshots, opened the door and found Osuna-Apodaca with a gunshot wound to the head and neck, bleeding and unresponsive. The witness then saw Daniel, standing in the apartment with a handgun, telling the witness to mind his own business. Police confirmed the witness information.

In addition, a friend of the brothers told police that Daniel and Jesus had disputes with the victim in the past and that one of the brothers was probably going to shoot Osuna-Apodaca.

 Daniel Villalobos-Espinoza

After a search warrant was served, police found a gun matching the caliber of the murder weapon.

Meanwhile, under Miranda, Jesus told police he was at the victim’s residence when his brother Daniel showed up unexpectedly. Jesus said he went outside to smoke a cigarette but took off after he heard two gunshots inside. Daniel later told Jesus that he and Osuna-Apodaca both worked for the drug cartels as a desert spotter and through third-party information, learned Osuna-Apodaca had been ordered by the cartels to kill him. So, Daniel decided to kill the victim first.

When police arrive, Daniel initially denied committing the murder but then learned of his brother’s statement to police so Daniel confessed. He said Osuna-Apodaca was not armed and his bedroom door was locked. Daniel admits to shooting the victim in the head and then reshooting him just in case he was still alive.  

Homicide Arrest

On November 25, 2019 at approximately 4:00 pm Mesa Police were dispatched to Rotary Park located at 205 West 8th Ave in Mesa reference a subject stabbed and not breathing. Officers found a male victim lying on the concrete walkway not breathing, with a stab wound to the chest. The victim was transported to the hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.

Initial responding Officers located multiple transients in the park and asked if anyone saw anything. One of the males, later identified as Anthony Hollingshead, told the officer that he stabbed the victim while defending his wife and the knife used was in his pocket. The officer took the knife out of the defendant’s pocket and secured it. Hollingshead was transported to the Mesa Police station for an interview.

Hollingshead said he has hung out at the park almost every day for the past month and has had numerous run ins with the victim. Hollingshead said the victim has been harassing towards his wife and has tried to take items out of his cart full of personal belongings. Hollingshead admitted to being in an altercation with the victim and said he was punched so he automatically responded by punching back one time in the chest area. He admitted to having his fully extended knife in his hand at the time he punched back.

A search of the surrounding area and victim’s clothing was negative for any other weapons. Hollingshead’s story was not consistent with other witness accounts and he has been charged with one count of 2nd degree murder.

Homicide Arrest

On Monday November 11, 2019 at approximately 3:00 pm Mesa Police responded to the Windemere Motel, 5750 E. Main St. #204, regarding a female who stated she had been shot. Upon arrival officers located two gunshot victims inside the room, one adult male and one adult female. The male was pronounced deceased at the scene and the female was transported to the hospital with life threatening injuries.

The female stated a male named Tony shot them because he thought they stole his drugs. The defendant was identified as 44-year-old Anthony Wayne Gushee.
A search warrant was obtained at the crime scene and detectives located a quantity of crystal like substance that appeared to be methamphetamine packaged for sale as well as numerous syringes containing a liquid substance.

At approximately 11:50 pm detectives located Anthony at 9333 E Apache Trail where he was taken into custody without incident. Anthony said he goes by Tony and when asked about the crime he requested an attorney and invoked his right to remain silent. Anthony has a prior history of drug related offenses.

Anthony has been charged with one count of Second Degree Murder and one count of Aggravated Assault. The investigation remains ongoing.

Laser Pointed at Aircraft - Arrest Made

On 10/26/19 the Mesa Police Air Unit was flying around the area of 1140 S 111th Circle in Mesa, AZ when a green laser was pointed at them. They notified ground units of the approximate location and then returned and were again pointed at by the green laser. Ground units observed the suspect pointing the laser and he was identified as 30-year-old Phillip Merrell. Officers learned Phillip had pointed the laser the day before at a commercial airliner from the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Officers also learned there were numerous other recent complaints from pilots saying someone in the area was shining a laser at them. Phillip said he didn’t know it was illegal to point a laser at an occupied aircraft.

Phillip was arrested and charged with one count of pointing a laser at an occupied aircraft and one count of endangerment involving risk of imminent death.

Major Drug Arrest

On October 17, 2019, the Mesa Police Department Organized Crime Unit received information of suspicious activity occurring at a Travel Lodge Hotel located at 1424 North 50th Ave in Phoenix, AZ. The investigation led detectives to identify a male and female likely involved in drug possession and sales. The female was later identified as Marisol Beltran Marquez (DOB 7-3-77) and was observed driving an involved vehicle. She was pulled over for a civil traffic violation and a certified Mesa Police K9 was called to the scene which alerted to the presence of drugs in the vehicle. After searching the vehicle and concluding search warrants on all the involved properties, detectives located over 20 pounds of cocaine, 16 pounds of heroin, 20 pounds of Methamphetamine and approximately 15,000 pills of fentanyl. There was also over $3,000 cash in the vehicle.

The male was later identified as Jeusef Roberto Beltran Arenas (DOB 1-26-95) and was determined to be the person in control of the room where the investigation initiated and where the illicit drugs were observed being picked up by Marisol. Jeusef was stopped earlier in the day and already detained by DPS for possession of illegal drugs. Jeusef declined to talk to detectives about the investigation. Marisol stated Jeusef was her nephew and she had received a call stating he was arrested and she needed to pick up the items in the hotel. Marisol said she didn’t know exactly what was in the bags she picked up but believed it was some sort of illegal drugs.

Marisol has been charged with:

Transport/Sale Narcotic Drug (3 Counts), Possession of Narcotic Drug for Sale (3 Counts), Possession of Narcotic Drug ( 3 Counts), Transport/Sale Dangerous Drug, Possession of Dangerous Drug for Sale, Possession of Dangerous Drug, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Jeusef has been charged with:

Transport/Sale Narcotic Drug (3 Counts), Possession of Narcotic Drug for Sale (3 Counts), Possession of Narcotic Drug ( 3 Counts), Transport/Sale Dangerous Drug, Possession of Dangerous Drug for Sale, Possession of Dangerous Drug, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

The estimated street value of the drugs seized is nearly $600,000. Great job by all involved. The Mesa Police Department is grateful to have good working relationships with our local and federal law enforcement partners and we wish to thank the members of the East Valley Drug Task Force and Mesa Police SWAT who assisted in this investigation.

Roadways Prove Dangerous for Construction Workers, Police and Fire

Sgt. Loewenhagen

Almost 1,500 construction workers nationally have been killed on the job.

“Construction workers have kind of a unique aspect because when they’re in a roadway, the roadway is not flowing normally,” said Traffic Sgt. Greg Loewenhagen.

“There are barricades out in the road, the speed limits have changed. So, the people who are used to traveling those roads are not traveling a normal traffic pattern. Any bit of those changes can have an impact on drivers such as the lowered speed limits, the change of signage where you used to be able to turn right or left and now you can’t. That all present hazards when people are driving. Many times, they’re driving distracted – they’re not paying attention to those signs, they’re not looking at the barricades. The construction personnel who are out in the roadway at that time trying to work have drivers whizzing by who aren’t paying attention as they should be and it’s extremely hazardous to them.”

In addition to barricades, at every roadway work zone there are signs that say something like ‘workers on duty.’

“Their job is dangerous and unfortunately, they’re committed to moving electrical lines or digging through the asphalt,” explained Loewenhagen. “Their attention is not on traffic so they’re hoping those barricades do their job. They’re hoping the cars stay where they’re supposed to stay. But it’s dangerous for sure.”

The dangers are equal for both police officers and firefighters.

“People see the red and blue lights, it catches their attention and, unfortunately, they’re not looking for people who are on foot,” said Loewenhagen. “They’re not looking for an officer standing in the road. They’re not looking for a firefighter or a civilian who may have gotten into a vehicle collision who’s out in the roadway. They’re looking at the cars. They see big objects. They don’t see the small ones. They don’t see the people. And that’s a big hazard. That’s why we wear bright yellow vests. It’s why we try to be as visible as possible. It is a very hazardous job anytime you’re in a roadway where there are vehicles.”

If you get a ticket for not slowing down in work zones, the fines are typically double what the normal penalty would be due to the increased danger to workers in those areas. The points, added to your driving record, are the same since the point accrual is set by the Motor Vehicle Division. A ticket can also increase your insurance rates.

As Sgt. Loewenhagen points out, most of these violations are civil violations so it’s just a ticket, not a crime.   

As a motorcycle officer, Sgt. Loewenhagen has near misses on a regular basis. “I have to brake very heavily to avoid somebody turning left in front of me or I have to evade left or right from somebody who’s pulling into a lane I’m already occupying. Motorcycles, unfortunately, aren’t as visible as vehicles. The same as pedestrians. They’re smaller objects. They take up less space in someone’s field of view. So, it happens to me about every week or two where I have to avoid a collision on a motorcycle.”

He does pull those drivers over when he’s able to but doesn’t if he’s headed to an emergency call.

“One of the things we try to do as motorcycle officers are if we make traffic stops on roadways with a 45 mph or higher speed limit, we try to get the motorist off the road,” Sgt. Loewenhagen said. “I want them to pull into a parking lot, pull onto a side street, get off the road completely. That’s safer for us, safer for the other motorists on the roadway. If I have to stop on a roadway that has a high-speed limit, I’m approaching the passenger side of the car. I don’t even want to be next to traveling vehicles that are at full road speed. Sometimes we’re forced to do it. It’s a very uncomfortable feeling even for someone like me who’s been doing it for 20 years and probably has made 5,000-10,000 traffic stops.”

His advice to any driver getting pulled over is to get off the road, turn your emergency flashers on immediately, if possible, and begin to slow down. “That way the officer behind you knows that you’re acknowledging you’

The sergeant reassures drivers they won’t get in trouble for driving a little way to find a safe place to pull over.

“I appreciate people who are pulling over, at my direction, when they go to a safe spot,” added Loewenhagen.

RapidSOS Technology Helps Rescue Kidnap Victim

Tense moments for 911 call takers as they get a cell phone call from a woman saying she’d been kidnapped. The kidnapper could be heard in the background threatening to blow her brains out among making other threats. The victim was found safe thanks to RapidSOS.

HOW RapidSOS WORKS

“We have this new technology we just implemented,” said Kristen Molander, Mesa Police Public Safety Communications Administrator.

“RapidSOS is a website that allows us to put a phone number into the system anytime somebody calls 911. And it pulls from the information from the caller’s phone — not just from their GPS — from the Apps that track their location. Your location is tracked whether you know it or not by phone apps. Every time you hit a Wifi spot it tracks your location.”

RapidSOS gives a current location and the last 10 or even 25 locations from the point a person calls 911. It provides data from millions of connected devices directly to 911 and first responders during emergencies, improving location accuracy.

KIDNAPPING CALL

“We really hadn’t had the opportunity to use it until one evening, when one of our call takers, Kimberly, was answering a 911 call,” explained Molander. “I can hear this call is not going well because I hear her say, ‘Have you been kidnapped?’ And the woman essentially says, ‘yes.’ She was saying she was in a car, on her way home, from out-of-state, needed to go back home but needs some help now.”

“The woman was frantic, and you could hear a verbal argument in the background,” said Mesa Police 911 Call Taker Kimberly Mendoza. “She said she was in a car and they were driving around. It took a little, but we clarified she was being held against her will, so it became a kidnapping call. And then our line disconnected.”

“These kinds of calls don’t happen as often as people think but we still pick up on it pretty quickly when somebody is not answering questions in a normal way or their answers don’t make sense,” said Molander. “That’s when Kimberly said, ‘Have you been kidnapped?’ and the woman said, ‘yes.’ And, so, Kimberly kept trying to get a good location from her but wasn’t able. But then the woman stopped responding to her questions.”

Call takers had a location from the cell phone but the woman was moving.

“The hard thing is you can retransmit to get a new location only so often,” explained Molander. “You have to wait about 30 seconds or so in between and that’s a long time when there’s an emergency. So, Kimberly puts in a call from the last known location she can see from her map and the woman disconnected. She calls her back. She answers but now she’s not responding or answering Kimberly’s questions and it’s obvious she just connected the line and set the phone in her lap so we can hear what’s going on. Kimberly is documenting everything she hears for the officers who are responding to the area.”

Over the next 10-15 minutes, the woman disconnects the line five more times, but operators keep calling back. Three people are working the call, in addition to the officers.

“We’re also working with the dispatcher to make sure officers have their sirens on,” said Molander. Kimberly could hear the sirens as they went by and tells officers to turn around. 

“At one point we even hear the guy say something like he’s going to blow her brains out,” Molander said. “So, it was getting pretty serious, pretty quick.”

“The line disconnects again and before Kimberly could call her back, the woman hits 911 and when she does the RapidSOS gives an exact location of where she was which was in a county island but at this point, we don’t care. We’re going anyway. We have officers speeding that way.”

About 20 minutes has gone by at this point.

“It was a domestic violence situation,” said Molander. “The guy was not letting her out of the vehicle. She just wanted to leave. She wanted to get out of the situation. The officers were able to get her out of the domestic violence situation. It was amazing.”

She gives much of the credit to Mendoza, who has been on the job about six years. “Her phone ear is amazing…She was able to pick up on the background noise and exactly what the guy was saying,” Molander said.

   

“Our job is to get a location to send help and that’s what we’re working fervently on,” said Mendoza. “I was listening to pertinent information: if there were weapons, if there were threats, if there was anything, we could prepare our officers to be better equipped in entering a situation to deescalate as safely and as fast as possible.”

911 CALL OPERATORS

She admits it’s a challenging job and the key is to utilize as many resources as you can.

“Is it always nerve wracking? Absolutely,” Mendoza said. “But that’s what makes the job so inspiring. You want to do better. You want to get the victim help and you want to get it as fast as possible…To have a resource like RapidSOS is huge. Otherwise, without narrowing down a location, it’s a broad area check.”

“The industry we work in is really challenging because we’re only as good as the resources we have and the information we ascertain. And it’s hard to walk away when you don’t know, or the outcomes are not as ideal as we want them to be. In this situation, we were very fortunate to make contact and to help and assist as much as we could….You do the best you can with what you’re given and you work through it with your peers on how to cope if it doesn’t end up so well. You take that experience and you utilize what you’ve learned and apply it to the next call.”

Homicide Arrest

On 09/29/2019 at about 4:30 pm, Mesa Police Officers responded to a shooting call at the Coral Point Apartments located at 2343 W Main. Arriving officers located an adult male, later identified as Khalil Evans, with multiple gunshot wounds. Evans was transported for treatment with life threatening injuries and later deceased at the hospital.

At approximately 6:30 pm a male subject named Jesse Hernandez (age 24) turned himself in at the Phoenix Police Department. Hernandez said he was involved in the incident with Evans here in Mesa. Detectives transported Hernandez back to Mesa where he was interviewed. He acknowledged being at the scene and possessing a firearm and firing it during the incident. Hernandez said he was visiting his estranged wife at the scene and said Evans is his brother in law. He said Evans approached him as he was leaving the scene and asked him if he had a missing key. Hernandez admitted to firing the handgun prior to leaving.

Detectives were able to recover the alleged firearm used in this homicide and found there was probable cause to charge Hernandez with one count of Second Degree Murder and one count of Misconduct Involving Weapons.

Ring Technology Helps Police Arrest Car Burglary Suspect

A handprint on a car door helps Mesa Police track down a suspect. But in order to know where to look for that print, Ring technology was used.

“What happened is the homeowners’ car was broken into,” said Mesa Police Commander Jeff Cutler. “Afterwards, they looked at their Ring alerts and saw two people who broke into their car. So, they made an online police report and noted they also had Ring video. When they uploaded their video and sent it to Ring, we were able to pull and look at it.”

The investigator was able to spot where the suspect put his hand on the car.

“We immediately went back out there, dusted for prints on the car where he put the handprint and were able to get some fingerprint lifts off of it,” said Cmdr. Cutler. “Then we submitted that to our lab. Within a month, we had the hit back on the suspect. So, the detective now takes it over and contacts the suspect and gets a full confession he broke into the car.”

“Without that Ring video, we probably wouldn’t have printed the car and we probably wouldn’t have found the suspect.”

RING TECHNOLOGY

As far as how the Ring technology works, Cmdr. Cutler said, “Ring has the Ring App product. The owners of Ring sign up with Ring to utilize that application. When they submit a video to Ring we get to view it in our agreement. We see a video of what they want us to see only. Then we can review it and see if we can use it for identifying suspects.”

The Ring App is not strictly for law enforcement. For example, homeowners can share videos with their neighbors. But when it comes crimes, “We get good quality video or pictures of a suspect or a vehicle description or in this case, we saw where the suspect touched the vehicle,” said Cmdr. Cutler. “What we can also do with it is if we start seeing a trend in a neighborhood -- such as a vehicle burglary trend – if we know people have Rings in the area we can go ask them if they’re willing to share video with us,” Cmdr. Cutler said. “Sometimes they might not be a victim of a crime but they have the best video of the person.”

Another reason why the Ring technology is helpful to police is in the case of vehicle burglaries since detectives don’t automatically dust the car for fingerprints.

“A print on the outside of the car is not evidence someone broke into the car because a person could say they touched the car in a parking lot or touched it somewhere else,” explained Cmdr. Cutler. “Since the video shows, in this incident, the person touching the car at that spot and shows them entering the car, that’s the evidence you need. That’s how the Ring App was very successful in this case.”

ONLINE REPORTING

The investigation was also expedited due to the vehicle owner using Mesa PD’s online reporting.

“The online reporting system is where people go in and create their own report – they don’t have to wait for a police officer to come out,” Cmdr. Cutler said. “It’s a lot more customer-friendly. When you call in for a police officer, we have a list of priority calls. A vehicle burglary that already happened is very, very low priority because we have other high priority crimes-in-progress calls going on. So, instead of waiting for an officer to show up at their house, they can just go online and type up the report and submit it.”

In the event you’re at work and see someone breaking into your car through your video cam, that’s a crime in progress and officers will dispatch right away.

Animal Abuse - Suspect Arrested

On August 26, 2019 Mesa Police Officers were dispatched to 720 S. Dobson for a report of a male hitting a cat. When Officers arrived they located a deceased cat with obvious fresh injuries. Officers were given a description of the male suspect who was observed committing the crime but were unable to locate and identify the suspect. The investigation remained active and ongoing.

On August 27, 2019 another victim in the same complex came forward reporting a missing cat. The victim reported that on August 26 her window was damaged and there was blood near the window. Officers responded to the call and a second deceased cat was located with obvious injuries. Between the two incidents enough suspect information was provided to identify the suspect as 19 year old Gabriel Molina.

Both victims positively identified Molina as the suspect. Detectives arrived and helped locate and arrest Molina. When he was located he was actively trying to obtain drugs and a kitten from unrelated people. Molina was interviewed and confessed to breaking into the residence and assaulting the two cats. He was ultimately charged with 2nd degree Burglary, Attempted burglary 2nd degree, 2 counts of animal cruelty and 1 count of residential trespassing.

We are proud of each of our Officers and Investigators and the dedication they demonstrated to solving this crime. We extend our condolences to the victims and owners of these pets. If you have information involving Animal Abuse/Cruelty please report it to the Mesa Police Department. We take these crimes seriously and will investigate them thoroughly.

Sex Abuse - Arrest

On January 19, 2019 Mesa Police responded to a sexual abuse call. An adult female victim reported having been sexually abused by an employee while receiving a massage at the Comfort Foot reflexology establishment located at 1116 S Dobson. Investigators developed leads on possible suspects but were ultimately unable to identify the suspect and were told the owner of the establishment was currently in China.

On July 27, 2019 a second victim (unknown to the first) came forward and disclosed being sexually abused by an employee while receiving a massage at the same establishment. Investigators were able to identify a possible suspect who was later identified as 56 year old Sun Songpwng. Sun was positively identified by each of the victims as being the suspect who abused them. Sun was detained and interviewed and ultimately denied the allegations.

Sun has been charged with four counts of Sexual Abuse stemming from both investigations.

Attempt to Identify Theft Suspect

Do you know this man?

On August 5th, 2019 this man entered the AZ Diamond Center on 6555 E Southern Ave in Mesa and asked to look at two princess cut diamonds. On August 7, 2019 he returned to the store and asked to see the same two items and once they were removed he ran out of the store with them. The loss is valued at approximately $36,000.

The suspect is described as a Black Male between 25-30 years old between 6'00 - 6'02 feet tall with a mustache and goatee that do not connect. He has tattoos on his right arm and inner left forearm and may be driving a Black SUV (possibly Chevy with ASU license plate).

If you can help identify him please call the Mesa Police Department non emergency number 480-644-2211

Multiple Sexual Assault/Kidnapping Arrest

On August 11, 2019 Mesa Police responded to a sexual assault call at the Relaxing Massage located at 2702 E University in Mesa. Responding Officers learned the defendant (later identified as Gilbert Anthony Lerma DOB 03/22/2000) had insinuated he wanted a massage and while being alone with the victim, pulled out a hand gun and threatened her. Lerma began to sexually assault the victim causing her to scream as a witness entered the room. Lerma attempted to flee but left his car keys in the building. At that moment Lerma called 911 to report he was a victim of theft from the business.

Responding Officers quickly assessed Lerma’s story was not adding up and located the handgun which had been thrown in a nearby trash can. Lerma was arrested and interviewed and ultimately admitted to this crime. During the investigation detectives identified Lerma as being related to two other similar incidents. One occurred on July 4, 2019 at the Asian Star Massage located at 857 N Country Club. In that incident Lerma used a handgun while sexually assaulting a victim and then stealing money. He was interviewed about this and admitted to being involved.

The third known incident occurred on February 5, 2019 when Lerma approached a female victim at the bus stop at Horne and Southern. He used a handgun to coerce her to get into his vehicle and proceeded to drive to the area of 4500 E Caballero in Mesa near his home. During the drive Lerma sexually abused the victim and when he arrived at his residence, he told her to go inside his house. She refused and ultimately ran to a neighbor asking for help. Officers responded and interviewed the victim and were told what happened. Lerma was contacted and told officers the victim had willingly entered his vehicle asking for a ride. He said she was flirting with him and there was consensual sexual contact in his vehicle. Lerma said he stopped at his home to change and while there, she stole money from his wallet and attempted to flee. He said he chased her causing her to go to a neighbor and call police. The investigating detective was unable to locate surveillance footage or any corroborating evidence to prove or disprove the allegation at that time and the case was inactivated.

As a result of the totality of all three cases, Lerma has been charged with the following:

August 11th Incident (Mesa PD DR 20192230393) - 2 counts of sexual assault (13-1406.A), 1 count of kidnapping (13-1304.A3), 1 count of disorderly conduct (13-2904.A6 - reckless display of a deadly weapon), 1 count of endangerment (13-1201.A - for discarding the loaded handgun in a public area), and 1 count of misconduct involving weapons (13-3102.A1a).

July 4th Incident (Mesa PD DR 20191850393) - 2 counts of sexual assault (13-1406.A), 1 count of kidnapping (13-1304.A3), 1 count of armed robbery (13-1904.A1), 1 count of misconduct involving weapons (13-02.A1a).

February 5th Incident (Mesa PD DR 20190360336) - 2 counts of sexual abuse (13-1404.A), 1 count of kidnapping (13-1304.A3), and 1 count of misconduct involving weapons (13-3102.A1a).

Homicide Arrest

On July 28th, 2019 we responded to 530 S Dobson #448 in Mesa for a reported stabbing. On scene we located an adult male later identified as Dontavius McCaslin, with a stab wound. McCaslin was transported to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injury. The investigation revealed McCaslin had been in a verbal argument with a known female acquaintance named Daylajae Hudspeth. Witnesses on scene heard Hudspeth arguing with McCaslin and described a scuffle occurring in the back room.

Hudspeth remained on scene and was interviewed by investigators. She explained she was in an off and on relationship with McCaslin and admitted to stabbing him during the verbal argument. Some of her statements didn’t match evidence obtained at the scene and although she said she was punched by him, there were no signs of injury to her face.

Prior to this incident on, 07/20/19 Hudspeth was arrested for assaulting McCaslin and had been ordered to stay away from him. Hudspeth has now been charged with one count of 2nd degree murder and one count of failing to comply to a court order.

Daylajae Hudspeth

Attempt to Identify -- Theft of Wallet and Credit Cards

Fatal Collision - Arrest

On July 9th, 2019 just after 5 pm a bicyclist was traveling East on McDowell just West of Higley Road when he was struck by a vehicle also traveling Eastbound. The bicyclist (identified as 67 year old Scott Purdie) was pronounced deceased at the scene and the driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and cooperated with the investigation. The collision investigation determined that the vehicle had drifted into the bike lane striking the bicyclist. The driver showed numerous signs of impairment and a Drug Recognition Expert was called to the scene. After a thorough investigation the driver was arrested for one count of manslaughter. The driver later admitted to using Heroin and Methadone and further admitted to using Methamphetamine earlier in the week. At the time of his arrest he was in possession of Heroin and drug paraphernalia. The driver was identified as 29 year old Zachary Taylor. He has been charged with one count of manslaughter, narcotic drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Animal Cruelty - Arrest

On 06/03/19 Mesa Police responded to a report of animal cruelty that was captured on surveillance footage at 1411 S Country Club. Employees at this location found an approximately 6 week old injured kitten in the parking lot that appeared to have head trauma and tremors. Reviewing surveillance footage an adult man was seen taking his shirt off and chasing the kitten in the parking lot. The man is seen cornering the kitten and using his shirt to cover it and then kick the kitten multiple times. The man then smoked a cigarette as he stared at the kitten.

Officers investigating the incident identified the man as 23 year old Nicholas Calfy. Calfy was located and interviewed and admitted to being the person on the surveillance footage but denied having memory involving the kitten. Calfy was arrested for the animal cruelty investigation and was found to be in possession of methamphetamine at the time of his arrest. He has been charged with one count of animal cruelty, possession of a dangerous drug, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

If you have reasonable belief that an animal is being abused or neglected, please call the Mesa Police Department. We take these cases seriously and will investigate them thoroughly.

Operation No Mulligans – Child Sex Crimes Arrests

The Mesa Police Department recently partnered with the Tempe Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Attorney General’s Office for Operation No Mulligans, an undercover operation targeting the demand for child sex crimes and human trafficking. Throughout the operational period, officers and undercover detectives placed ads on websites commonly sought out by suspects seeking illegal sex acts. The suspects solicited and/or brokered deals for various sex acts and were subsequently arrested.

The Mesa Police Department routinely conducts operations of this type in a continuous effort to reduce the demand that fuels child and human sex trafficking from our community. The suspects in this operation ranged in age from 23 to 46 years old.

The Mesa Police Department partners with organizations and survivor advocates to assist victims who have been exploited or trafficked. If you have information about someone being trafficked, contact your local police department or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888. Their website is https://humantraffickinghotline.org/

Our partnership with the Hickey Family Foundation and Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) was crucial to the success of this investigation. This operation was conducted during the 2019 National John Suppression Initiative.
For more information about human exploitation and trafficking and how to help, please visit: http://mesaaz.gov/residents/police/departments-divisions/mesa-family-advocacy-center/heat

Reed Park Homicide Arrest

On February 6, 2019 at approximately 5:30 pm officers responded to a reported shooting at Reed park 1631 E Broadway in Mesa. Officers located an adult male with gunshot wounds who was transported to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. The victim has been identified as 26-year-old Billy Lucy. Multiple background witnesses were identified, and a thorough investigation has been underway leading to the identification of a 16-year-old male as the primary suspect. On February 17, 2019 Probable Cause was established to charge the suspect and he was arrested by a US Marshals Task Force. This arrest directly reflects on the tireless efforts and quality work from our first responding patrol officers and investigative detectives to the relationships we have with our federal law enforcement partners. The suspect has been booked for one count of 1st Degree Murder, Armed Robbery and Possession of Narcotic Drugs.

Homicide Arrest

On Sunday January 13, 2019, just after 11pm, officers were called to a stabbing on S. Country Club Pl. Officers found a man who had been stabbed and he was taken to Banner Desert Hospital, where he died.
The victim’s girlfriend said her ex-boyfriend, identified as Isaiah Aguirre, was provoking them by throwing rocks at their car. When the victim got out, she says Aguirre stabbed him in the chest. The suspect took off on foot and was tracked by a Mesa PD K9 officer and his K9, who found the baseball hat and jacket Aguirre’s ex-girlfriend said he was wearing.
Just after 9:30am a Mesa PD Detective saw Aguirre walking near Country Club and Southern. Aguirre was taken into custody and booked at the Mesa Police Department on one count of 2nd degree murder.
Thanks to the work by our K9 officer, K9 and Detective, the suspect was apprehended quickly and without incident.