July 2011 Archives

Thirty-three-year-old Phoenix mother, Sandra Holguin, faces child abuse charges after she allegedly left her young daughter in a hot car for almost an hour while she shopped at a Kmart in Tolleson, reports The Arizona Republic.

According to Tolleson police spokesman, Sergeant Obed Gaytan, several Good Samaritans tried to free the two-year-old girl from the vehicle before police arrived Friday night. The high temperature that day was reported at 106 degrees.

Police were able to remove the girl and placed her inside an air-conditioned patrol car to cool her off. Tolleson Fire Department paramedics also gave her medical attention and water.

Being a Justice of Peace doesn't give you the authority to disturb the peace.

Maricopa County Justice of Peace Phillip Woolbright must have thought he was above the law or just plain didn't care before he was arrested for the violation of a protective order against him by visiting his estranged wife's home on Thursday night, reports The Arizona Republic.

Apparently, Woolbright, who serves in the Lake Pleasant Justice Court, knew he was breaking the law and separately called the police himself after he did so, telling authorities he had argued with his wife over his visitation rights of their children.

The bizarre twist of events that have followed Scottsdale business tycoon Jonah Shacknai for the past few weeks continues to get darker as recently-released police reports allegedly reveal a history of domestic violence between Shacknai and his ex-wife, Dina, reports KPHO.

According to Paradise Valley Police reports, Shacknai's ex-wife filed domestic violence reports in 2008 and 2009, claiming he elbowed her in the chest in one incident and was bitten by the family dog possibly because of his instigation in another incident.

Not even one of Hollywood's most coveted couples can escape the seven-year-itch.

Seven years of married bliss, two children, and one planned music-based reality show couldn't keep the A-List duo of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony together. It seems another number - three failed marriages between them - haunted the couple instead, resulting in their announced split on Friday, reports the Associated Press.

Now they'll have to face the unenviable task of splitting up their joint assets, including their multi-million dollar fortunes.

Senator Scott Bundgaard, the "tired and embarrassed" Arizona Republican representative, received a small reprieve from the Phoenix Municipal Court, which agreed to postpone pretrial hearings for the domestic violence trial against him until the beginning of August, reports the Associated Press.

Bundgaard had entered a not-guilty plea for misdemeanor assault and endangerment charges connected to a February altercation on a Phoenix freeway with his then-girlfriend Aubry Ballard. The pretrial hearing had been scheduled for Monday.

Oscar Miranda-Villalobos is currently under custody on a $750,000 bond for allegedly stabbing his estranged wife multiple times Saturday night in the Village of Oak Creek, reports ABC 15.

In what appeared to be a fit of jealous rage, the 45-year-old Clarkdale man ripped his wife out of a car while she was parked in her driveway on Ironwood Street with her boyfriend. He then began stabbing her in the midsection, back, wrist and hands with an 8-inch carving knife until the victim's boyfriend stopped his attack with a shot to the head with a shovel, according to Yavapai County Sheriff's spokesman Dwight D'Evelyn.

The face of the typical Arizona family structure is receiving a makeover, according to recent 2010 Census data. The traditional setup of a nuclear family consisting of a married man and woman and their children is on the decline, while the rate of single-parent and same-sex households has increased.

Only 18 states have released data so far, but the comparisons between Arizona and the other states have been surprising for some.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has blocked enforcement of the latest restrictions on abortion providers passed by the Arizona legislature. This week, Judge Richard Gama told parties during a hearing that enforcement of the latest Arizona abortion law is stayed pending an August 22 hearing.

The new abortion laws were supposed to take effect on July 20.

New York recently became the sixth U.S. state in addition to Washington D.C. to legalize same-sex marriage, which has sparked debate all over the country about the reform of marriage laws. In Arizona, there are groups on both sides of the debate who now have a political agenda to either keep marriage between one man and one woman, or to legalize marriage between same-sex couples.

The Arizona Republic reports that the Phoenix-based gay rights political advocacy group Equality Arizona expects the New York decision to have an impact not just in the Empire State, but also around the nation. The group is now focusing on repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) at the federal level. With the repeal of DOMA, same-sex couples would have certain rights recognized by federal law.