State Glance

Convicted felon charged in string of killings in Phoenix

PHOENIX — A convicted felon was formally charged with murder in eight shooting deaths in metro Phoenix late last year.

The indictment against Cleophus Cooksey Jr. was filed Thursday but became publicly available Monday.

Police said nearly two months ago that Cooksey was responsible for fatally shooting nine people, though he’s charged in only eight killings.

He has been jailed since his mid-December arrest in the deaths of his mother and stepfather.

Investigators say Cooksey is linked to the killings through ballistics.

Cooksey previously pleaded not guilty in the deaths of his mother and stepfather.

He was released from prison in July for a manslaughter conviction for participating in a strip-club robbery where an accomplice was killed.

Man accused in stabbing death of wife’s ex-boyfriend

MESA — Police in Mesa have arrested a man in connection with the fatal stabbing of his wife’s exboyfriend.

They say 29-year-old Derick Eugene Holman is jailed on suspicion of second-degree murder.

Mesa police were called out around 3 a.m. Sunday after the body of 34-year-old Robert Henry Stevenson was found in the middle of a road.

Authorities say he was stabbed multiple times and was declared dead at the scene.

Police later located a crime scene at a nearby hotel where investigators say there was a confrontation between Holman and Stevenson.

Holman was arrested at his Phoenix home and police say he was in possession of the victim’s wallet.