State Glance
Arizona mother pleads not guilty in children’s car deaths
FLORENCE — An Arizona mother has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges in the deaths of her two small children.
Video from KPHO-TV shows 20-year-old Brittany Velasquez remaining silent for most of her arraignment Friday in Pinal County Superior Court.
Authorities say Velasquez’s 2-year-old son and infant daughter were found dead March 26 in a car in the town of Superior. The children had been left strapped in car seats for 14 hours.
Investigators believe she was the last person to see them alive and that there was evidence of foul play.
Velasquez previously said someone else was supposed to be watching the children that day.
Velasquez, who is being represented by a public defender, is facing two counts each of seconddegree murder and child abuse.
Trump signs bill to expand child alert system to tribal land
FLAGSTAFF — President Donald Trump has signed a bill that expands a child abduction alert system to tribal land.
The bill comes almost two years after an 11-year-old Navajo girl was sexually assaulted and killed on the reservation in northwestern New Mexico. An Amber Alert wasn’t issued for Ashlynne Mike until the day after she was reported missing.
The bill that Trump signed Friday is named for her.
It gives tribes direct access to federal grants that law enforcement agencies use for Amber Alert systems. It also makes permanent a pilot program that offers training to tribes.
U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona says he’s hopeful the changes will help prevent tragedy.
The U.S. Justice Department will review any challenges tribes face in accessing state or regional alert systems.
Town to file lawsuit over San Tan Valley incorporation plans
CASA GRANDE— A central Arizona town is suing Pinal County over a petition filed in the county seeking the incorporation of a Phoenix suburb.
The Casa Grande Dispatch reports the Queen Creek Town Council voted Thursday to move forward with plans to sue the Pinal County Board of Supervisors and the Elections Department supervisor over San Tan Valley incorporation efforts.
The council expects to file the lawsuit in Pinal County Superior Court in the coming days.
Queen Creek officials argue that the steering committee pushing for the incorporation is illegally including rural areas and bypassing the proper use of the annexation process.
Queen Creek is also seeking to annex an area of San Tan Valley that’s included in its incorporation map.
Suspect arrested in Tucson man’s drive-by shooting death
TUCSON — Tucson police have made an arrest in a fatal drive-by shooting.
Sgt. Pete Dugan said Friday that 47-year-old Anthony Fimbres has been booked into Pima County Jail on first-degree murder and other charges.
Officers called to a residence April 6 found 51-year-old Jesus Castro and his son with gunshot wounds.
Castro died at a hospital. The son remains in stable condition.
Police say Castro was sitting in his truck talking to his two sons when a vehicle pulled up and someone opened fire.
Dugan says Fimbres owns a vehicle matching the description of the one involved and that was later found on fire.
A search warrant led to additional evidence in Fimbres’ home. Police believe there are additional suspects.
Arizona turkey hunters asked to give virus research a leg up
PHOENIX — Arizona wildlife officials are asking spring turkey hunters to consider donating a part of their kill for research.
The Arizona Game and Fish Department said Friday that it has been monitoring the state’s wild turkey population for a possible virus. With turkey-hunting season starting next week, officials are asking hunters, including youth hunters, to give one of the bird’s legs or heart.
They can be turned in to any of the department’s regional offices.
The legs and hearts should be stored in a sealable plastic bag in the freezer.
According to the agency, wild turkeys can develop the Lymphoproliferative Disease Virus that can turn into a deadly cancer.
The disease does not affect humans.