Officer taken hostage at prison in Douglas
An apparently suicidal inmate took a corrections officer hostage Monday at the Arizona State Prison Complex at Douglas.
The officer was released physically unharmed after about 30 minutes, and the inmate was restrained, said Bill Lamoreaux, a state Department of Corrections spokesman.
The ordeal began when inmate Marcus A. Davis, 41, met with the officer, who was his case manager, in the Mohave Unit Programs Building shortly before 10 a.m., Lamoreaux said.
Davis grabbed the officer and claimed to have a knife on the back of her neck. Davis told her he was doing a life sentence, his mother was dying of cancer and he had nothing to lose, Lamoreaux said.
The officer picked up her radio and Davis told her to call the person in charge and for the Special Weapons and Tactics team to respond.
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The unit deputy warden walked into the office where Davis was holding the corrections officer, and Davis told the warden that he did not intend to hurt the officer and wanted the SWAT team to kill him, Lamoreaux said.
The warden talked to Davis for about 15 minutes before Davis released the officer. The knife Davis said he held turned out to be a pen, Lamoreaux said.
The officer was taken by ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation as a precautionary measure and was released.
Davis is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder with a consecutive sentence for armed robbery out of Maricopa County.
He is under continuous watch and is awaiting a psychological assessment, Lamoreaux said.
A criminal investigation is continuing, and the incident appears to have been a "suicide-by-cop" attempt, Lamoreaux said.
Carmen Duarte
Pipe bomb explodes in suspect's house
A man wanted in connection with possession of a prohibited military weapon was arrested Sunday in Ajo.
John David Ford, 38, was taken into custody after Pima County sheriff's deputies served a search warrant at his home and found two metal pipe bombs and other bomb-making materials, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
Barkman gave the following account:
Ford is a suspect in a case involving military surface-to-air missile simulators.
County and federal authorities went to Ford's home, and while they were using a bomb squad robot one of the pipe bombs exploded. No one was injured.
Ford was arrested on suspicion of four counts of possession and manufacture of a prohibited weapon, and three counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.
Authorities also arrested Becky Leon, 26, on suspicion of tampering with evidence.
Both were booked into the Pima County jail.
Carmen Duarte
Man admits stabbing, sent to state hospital
A Tucson man who stabbed another man to death in front of the victim's 2-year-old child will likely spend the rest of his life at the Arizona State Hospital in Phoenix.
Bradley L. Ware, 25, pleaded guilty except insane to first-degree murder in the June 2010 death of Charles Holley, 27.
On Monday, Pima County Superior Court Judge Ted Borek sentenced Ware to 25 years to life in prison, but placed him under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Psychiatric Review Board and committed him to the Arizona State Hospital in Phoenix.
Ware will be released from the hospital only if doctors determine he is no longer mentally ill and is not a danger to himself or others. If that happens, Ware will be monitored by the review board, which can rehospitalize him at any time. If the hospital determines Ware is no longer mentally ill but remains dangerous, he would be required to serve the rest of his sentence in prison.
Holley's girlfriend awoke to find Ware stabbing Holley repeatedly inside their apartment in the 6000 block of East Pima Street, according to court documents. After Ware ran away, she called 911 and Holley walked to a neighbor's house, collapsing on the way back.
Kim Smith
Police identify man who died in wreck
Police have identified the motorist killed in a single-vehicle wreck early Monday on Tucson's east side.
Chase M. Cherba, 26, lost control of the 2004 Hyundai Sonata he was driving over 100 mph near East Broadway and South Wilmot Road around 1:45 a.m., said Sgt. Matt Ronstadt, a Tucson police spokesman.
Cherba did not follow the S-curve in the road east of Wilmot, and he lost control of the car and hit a pole, police said.
Veronica M. Cruz
Victim in I-10 fatality was from S. Dakota
The man killed in a three- vehicle wreck involving a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 10 near Picacho Peak Sunday has been identified.
Steven T. Coy, 59, of Rapid City, S.D, was driving a Dodge sedan west on I-10. It was struck by a rig headed east that had crossed the median into westbound traffic near Milepost 224, said Bart Graves, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman.
The rig also hit a Cadillac sedan headed westbound, DPS said. The crash injured several others.
Veronica M. Cruz
Motorcyclist dies after hit and run
A motorcyclist died Sunday after a hit and run near Tucson International Airport.
Shortly before 7 p.m., Jorge H. Gonzalez, 54, was riding a 1999 Harley-Davidson in the center lane of East Valencia Road and drove across South Country Club Road on a yellow light. He was hit by a 2001 BMW X3 that made a left turn at Country Club Road from westbound Valencia Road, said Sgt. Matt Ronstadt, a Tucson police spokesman.
The driver of the BMW ran from the scene and was not found after a search, police said.
Gonzalez was taken to the hospital, where he died a short time after the crash.
Local slaying suspect surrenders in Texas
A man who was wanted in connection with a Tucson-area killing turned himself in to authorities in Texas Saturday, police said.
Bryan Lamar Lee, 21, surrendered to Houston police in the killing of Jordan "JP" Peterson, whose remains were found in Pinal County more than a week ago, said Sgt. Matt Ronstadt, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
Tucson police obtained a first-degree-murder arrest warrant for Lee last Tuesday.
Jamar Younger
On StarNet: Find an interactive map of reported crimes in the city of Tucson, updated every morning with the previous day's data, at azstarnet.com/crimemap
Veronica M. Cruz
