Gym Locker Burglary Suspect Arrested

Between September 28, 2022, and October 28, 2022, Mesa Police Officers investigated a series of gym locker burglaries at two different EōS Fitness locations in Mesa. The suspect used credit cards stolen from the burglaries at various locations between Mesa and Tempe. 

Officers used video surveillance obtained from businesses where the suspect used the stolen credit cards and compared it to surveillance video provided from EōS Fitness to link six locker burglaries to eleven credit card thefts and eight fraudulent uses. This also helped in identifying the suspect, who was an EōS Fitness member. 

One victim encountered the suspect in the locker room prior to his locker being burglarized and was able to positively identify the man to police. 

On October 28, 2022, Mesa Police Officers located and arrested 39-year-old Gregory Freeman in Tempe. Freeman was booked into jail and held on a $2600 bond for the following charges: 

ARS 13-1506A1; 3rd Degree Burglary (6 counts), a class 4 felony 

ARS 13-2102A1; Theft of a Credit Card (11 counts), a class 5 felony 

ARS 13-2105A1; Fraudulent Use of a Credit Card (8 counts), a class 1 misdemeanor

Gregory Freeman Mug Shot

Superstition Springs Mall Homicide

On October 24, 2022, just before 2:00 p.m., Mesa Police Officers responded to the entrance of Superstition Springs Mall, located at 1342 S. Power, for a reported shooting. Initial call comments stated a woman was shot by a bullet that came through the front car windshield. 

When officers arrived, they observed evidence indicating that a gun had been fired from inside the vehicle the victim was riding in.  

Officers questioned the 16-year-old boy and learned that the boy was “playing” with a handgun in the back seat of the vehicle, when he pulled the trigger accidentally. The bullet went through the back of the front passenger seat and struck 20-year-old Elena Hernandez. 

Elena was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced deceased. 

The 16-year-old boy was booked into Durango Juvenile Detention Center for the following charges: 

ARS 13-1103A1; Manslaughter, a class 2 felony

ARS 13-3111A; Minor in Possession of a Firearm, a class 6 felony

ARS 2809A1; Tampering with Physical Evidence, a class 6 felony

ARS 3107A; Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm, a class 6 felony

Superstition Springs Mall Scene Photo

$285,000 Worth of Drugs Seized- Two Arrested

After six months of investigation, the Mesa Police Department arrested two men for various felony charges related to illegal drugs and distribution. Both men, 31-year-old Casey Thornton and 29-year-old Davonte Williams, used the Green Trail Smoke Shop in Mesa as a front to their crimes. 

With the help of the East Valley Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Mesa Police Department’s Organized Crime Section- Narcotic Unit was able to gather enough evidence through undercover operations and surveillance tactics to arrest both Thornton and Williams. 

At the conclusion of this investigation, officers seized 19 handguns, four rifles, and $285,000 worth of illegal drugs of the following type and amounts (all weights and measures are approximate): 

Methamphetamine: 91.62 grams

Fentanyl: 24,937.6 pills

Cocaine: 74.6 grams

Morphine: 5 syringes- liquid

Marijuana: 61 pounds

Marijuana gummies: 125.5 grams

Cartridges: 600+ vape pen cartridges with THC

Miscellaneous Prescriptions: 20.1 gram pills

Casey Thornton was booked into jail for the following charges and was held on a $100,000 bond.
 

Casey Thornton Mug Shot

ARS 13-3408A7: Transport or Sale of Narcotic Drugs, a class 2 felony (9 counts)
ARS 13-3408A2: Possession of Narcotic Drugs for Sale, a class 2 felony (9 counts)
ARS 13-3408A1: Possession of Narcotic Drugs, a class 4 felony (9 counts)
ARS 13-3411A1: Possession use/ sale in a Drug Free School Zone, a class 2 felony (8 counts)
ARS 3415A: Drug Paraphernalia, a class 6 felony (9 counts)
ARS 3405A2: Possession of Marijuana for Sale, a class 4 felony (2 counts)
ARS 2317B1: Money Laundering, a class 3 felony
ARS-2312A: Illegal Control of an Enterprise, a class 3 felony
ARS 13-1003: Conspiracy to Commit (all of the above offenses), a class 2 felony
ARS 13-3102A8: Possessing a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of any Felony, a class 4 felony
ARS 3102A3: Possessing a Prohibited Weapon, a class 4 felony

Davonte Williams was booked into jail for the following charges and held on a $25,000 bond:

Davonte Williams Mug Shot

ARS 13-3408A7: Transport or Sale of Narcotic Drugs, a class 2 felony (3 counts)
ARS 13-3408A2: Possession of Narcotic Drugs for Sale, a class 2 felony (3 counts)
ARS 13-3408A1: Possession of Narcotic Drugs, a class 4 felony (3 counts)
ARS 13-3411A1: Possession use/ sale in a Drug Free School Zone, a class 2 felony (2 counts)
ARS 2317B1: Money Laundering, a class 3 felony
ARS-2312B: Illegally Conducting an Enterprise, a class 3 felony
ARS 13-1003: Conspiracy to Commit (all of the above offenses), a class 2 felony
ARS 3415A: Drug Paraphernalia, a class 6 felony (3 counts)
ARS 13-3102A8: Possessing a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of any Felony, a class 4 felony