State Glance
Arizona Board of Regents chair Greg Patterson has resigned
PHOENIX — A member of the Arizona Board of Regents has announced his resignation from the board, effectively immediately.
Greg Patterson submitted his resignation letter Monday to board president Eileen Klein.
The Arizona Republic reports that Patterson’s resignation stems from condescending comments he made to a rural state lawmaker earlier this year at the end of a private meeting over cost containment in higher education.
The newspaper says Patterson secretly recorded the meeting and shared it with others afterward.
In his letter, Patterson says he didn’t want to become a distraction to the state universities’ governing board.
He was appointed to the board by then Gov. Jan Brewer in 2012 and had served as chair since last July.
Bill Ridenour, current vice chair of the board, will become chair on July 1.
Officials approve $26 million in spending in profiling case
PHOENIX — Officials in metro Phoenix gave final approval Monday to $26 million in additional spending to cover the taxpayer costs of a nearly 10-yearold racial profiling lawsuit that ultimately discredited then-Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s immigration patrols.
Taxpayers have already spent nearly $66 million on the case.
The new spending will cover the costs of complying with a court-ordered overhaul of the sheriff’s office and paying officials to monitor and investigate the agency on the behalf of a judge.
The spending is expected to continue until the agency fully complies with the court-ordered changes for three straight years.
The latest compliance report says the agency was 32 percent compliant with the overhaul’s first phase and 48 percent compliant in phase two.
The costs are believed to have contributed to Arpaio’s defeat in November.
Explosive device is deactivated near Lake Havasu City
LAKE HAVASU CITY — A bomb squad was able to deactivate an explosive device that was found on a driveway northwest of Lake Havasu City.
Mohave County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of a suspicious package outside a home about 8 p.m. Sunday.
Deputies say the 4-inch by 6-inch package was wrapped in red tape with a cylinder inside surrounded by crushed gravel.
All 20 neighboring houses were evacuated and a perimeter of about 100 yards was set in all directions.
The Lake Havasu City Police Department’s bomb squad arrived on the scene and determined the device had real explosives.
The bomb squad was able to deactivate the device and evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes about 11 p.m.
Sheriff’s officials say the incident remains under investigation.
Dec. 14 trial set for man accused in Phoenix serial killings
PHOENIX — A man accused in a string of serial killings in Phoenix is scheduled for trial on Dec. 14 in the one death in which he has been charged.
Aaron Saucedo made a brief appearance in court Monday on a murder charge in the death of 61-year-old Raul Romero.
Five weeks ago, Saucedo was booked on suspicion of murder in eight other killings, but charges haven’t yet been filed in those crimes.
The only comments Saucedo made in court was in answering questions about his name and birth date.
He wore leg chains and dark plastic-framed glasses and sported a thin mustache.
He previously pleaded not guilty to the charge and declared that he was innocent of the killings.
Outside court, Saucedo’s attorney, Dean Roskosz, declined to comment on the case.