Joel Stephan Goble received a 22-year prison sentence for second-degree murder linked to a fatal collision on U.S. 60 in Apache Junction last year. In a separate case, federal authorities indicted a man for intentionally setting fire to a Casa Grande synagogue earlier this year.
On the enforcement front, the Pinal County Attorney’s Office joined the federal 287(g) program to expand immigration duties. Meanwhile, sheriffs from two southern Arizona counties credited inter-agency cooperation for rescuing a boy from a suspected trafficker in Eloy. A driver recently arrested for a violent crash near Casa Grande last year that killed four others has been identified by deputies.
Other local updates include the reopening of a Superstition Mountains trailhead after wildlife closures, the return of the Genesis Project soup kitchen in Apache Junction, and a warning from a helicopter pilot regarding canyon flight dangers following a fatal crash near Picketpost Mountain. Additionally, a motorcyclist was killed in Maricopa after running a red light, and a new board for sex offender oversight elected its first chairwoman.