On June 5, 2022, around 11:25 p.m., Mesa Police Officers
responded to a convenient store parking lot in the 1100 block of S. Signal
Butte for a male subject, later identified as 37-year-old Brandon Denney, sleeping
behind the wheel of a running vehicle. The caller described Denney as “nodding
off” and said he would mumble and shout.
When officers arrived, they found Denney still sleeping with
an orange pill bottle in his hand. Officers woke Denney up and saw that his
eyes were red, and pupils constricted. Denney agreed to do field sobriety tests.
While completing the field sobriety tests, officers noticed
a Gila Monster poking his head out of a box in Denney’s vehicle. Denney said he
had run the Gila Monster over with his vehicle and decided to pick it up after
seeing it was injured.
Ultimately, Denney was taken into custody for driving under
the influence. During an inventory search of his vehicle, officers found
cocaine, methamphetamine, a fentanyl pill, and several items of drug
paraphernalia.
Officers also discovered that Denney had three felony
warrants for his arrest; two from California, both for Kidnapping with bonds of
$1,050,000 and $300,000 and the third warrant was from Nevada for Attempted
Grand Larceny of a Motor Vehicle for $50,000.
The Gila Monster was turned over to the Arizona Game and
Fish Department. The AZGFD opened their own investigation and will be charging
Denney appropriately (it is illegal to own or sell a Gila Monster in Arizona without a permit). Unlike
Denney’s story, the Gila Monster did not appear to be run over and had no
visible injuries.
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| Gila Monster |
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| Brandon Denney |
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