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Justice for All
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office • February 2014 Newsletter
From the Desk of Bill Montgomery
Recent headlines about stolen consumer financial data
underscore the continued risk of identity theft and the
importance of safeguarding your personal information. Judging
by the overflow crowd at our recent Shred-A-Thon, Maricopa
County residents are taking this threat seriously and destroying
unneeded documents that contain personal information.
My office will be hosting similar events throughout the coming
year (check our events calendar for details). I encourage you
to take advantage of these opportunities to reduce your risk of
becoming a victim of identity theft.
In this issue of our newsletter, we tell you about one of our
many successful prosecutions of credit card theft. We also have
the story of a repeat offender who literally had a run-in with
police that landed him behind bars.
This month, we’re saying a fond farewell to an employee who
served as the voice and face of our office for more than a decade.
We’ll tell you her story and why we will miss the kind greeting
she gives everyone who passes through our door or calls our
main number.
And as usual, you’ll find the monthly roundup of recent cases of
community interest.
Until next time,
Bill Montgomery
Bill Montgomery, Maricopa County Attorney
In This Issue:
2 | Repeat Offender Earns 11-Year
Prison Sentence
2 | Informational Presentations on
Services for Crime Victims
3 | Susan Nerone is Retiring
4 | First Shred-A-Thon of 2014 A Big
Success
4 | Catching and Prosecuting Credit
Card Thieves
5 | Calendar of Upcoming Events
5 | Cases of Community Interest
Burned by
Bad Checks?
We can help you recover the money
you’re owed - FREE OF CHARGE.
Contact the Maricopa County Attorney’s
Check Enforcement Program today at
(602) 372-7300 or
mcaocheck@mcao.maricopa.gov.
FightBadChecks.com
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office
Check Enforcement Program
Our job is to ensure the guilty do not escape justice and innocence
does not suffer.
Repeat Offender Earns
11-Year Prison Sentence
On March 28, 2013, a Phoenix
Police Vice Squad officer was
working a detail when he
suddenly heard shots fired
nearby in what turned out
to be a drug-related incident
between multiple males. The
suspects were attempting
to flee the scene when they
practically ran into the Vice
Squad detail. The suspects
Adam Garvin
were quickly ordered to
Deputy County Attorney in the
the ground and taken into
Major Crimes I Division
custody. One of them, Miguel
Ramirez, was found to have a 9mm handgun in a holster on his
hip. Fortunately, no one was injured in the incident.
Ramirez was charged and a jury found him guilty of Misconduct
Involving Weapons. But, because some criminals never seem to
learn their lesson, he had a bigger problem. Two prior convictions
were going to earn him a more severe sentence.
Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Adam Garvin was able to
prove to Judge Pamela Svoboda that in January of 2011 Ramirez
had stolen a check from his father, filled it out and then asked
another to take it to a check cashing location. When the business
refused to cash it, Ramirez went in and purported to be the owner
of the check. He was subsequently found guilty of Solicitation of a
Forgery and placed on probation.
In December of the same year, Ramirez was pulled over for
driving with fake tags. Officers searched the vehicle and found
methamphetamine in the bottom of a fast food restaurant
coffee cup. Ramirez was found guilty of Possession of Drug
Paraphernalia and placed once again on probation.
After Ramirez was found guilty in the current charge, Misconduct
Involving Weapons, Judge Svoboda agreed that Ramirez had the
two prior felony convictions and sentenced him to ten years in the
Arizona Department of Corrections followed by two consecutive
5-year sentences for his probation violations. The lengthy sentence
should provide Ramirez plenty of time to contemplate the wisdom
of continuing his criminal career.
Informational
Presentations
on Services
for Crime
Victims
Crime victims are entitled to
specific rights under Arizona
law, and may also be eligible
to receive a variety of services
to help them recover from the
traumatic effects of a crime.
The Victim Services Division
of the Maricopa County
Attorney’s Office now offers
free presentations about how
residents can exercise these
rights and access available
services. Also included in the
presentations is a brief historical
overview of the national crime
victims’ rights movement.
Groups such as neighborhood
associations,
non-profit
agencies,
businesses
and
professional
organizations
are encouraged to schedule
a presentation by contacting
the
Maricopa
County
Attorney’s
Office
at
(602) 506-3411 or by visiting
www.maricopacountyattorney.
org/speakers and selecting the
Victim Services Overview on
the Presentation Request Form.
Susan Nerone is Retiring
Susan Nerone has decided the time has come to retire. She has
been working the main switchboard at the Maricopa County
Attorney’s Office for the last 15 years.
“It really is just time. I want to spend a little more of it with
my 92-year-old mother,” said Nerone. “I may go back and visit
family in the suburban Cleveland city of Mentor, Ohio where I
grew up. But I’ve always been busy whether working or even
when I was a stay-at-home mother so I don’t think I’ll be without
things to do.”
Most of her responsibility at the County Attorney’s Office
Bye Susan, we’ll miss you!!
has been handling incoming calls. Her smile and engaging
personality has greeted both employees and visitors when they arrive at the 8th floor.
“The variety has always been fascinating,” said Nerone. “You look up and there can be anyone from
a down on their luck street person to judges and even a U.S. Senator.”
Nerone enthusiastically says her job was never boring and believes she is still learning something
new all the time. She believes communication is the most important skill anyone can have. “Some
days it’s just handling the sheer volume of calls,” said Nerone. “Other times the call turns into a
puzzle where you have to figure out what someone really needs when you know they really don’t
need our office.”
“We get calls from people who may not realize it but they really need to be speaking to a public
defender or the Attorney General’s Office,” she noted. “While most calls are pleasant we’ve had
difficult folks who wanted to explain all the facts when you find you have to interrupt to tell them
they really needed to be talking to someone at Social Security. I learned to keep a record of difficult
callers so if the situation became complex I could hand our detectives information that included the
dates, names, numbers and notes about the calls.”
She has kept a 3-ring binder full of names, numbers and locations for not only our staff but county,
state and federal numbers and location.
Susan says she will miss the job in part because of the constant activity at reception and mostly
because of the friendships she has made with our staff through the years.
When asked what she will be doing with her free time Susan will only say, “anything I want.”
She is a little concerned about exercise.
“I’ve been keeping track of all the exercise I get as a natural part of working and day to day life,”
she said. “Just walking to and from the train each day is important because I don’t want to decrease
what I’m currently doing. Don’t get me wrong I will continue to hike and work out in our little
community exercise facility. I’ll stay as fit as I can.”
Unfortunately for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office Susan will take her smile, experience and
positive attitude with her as she heads into retirement. Susan says she is confident Raquel Hekel,
who has a pretty good smile herself and has been working with Susan for over a year, is ready to
take over.
First Shred-AThon of 2014
A Big Success
The first Shred-A-Thon of the year
was held Wednesday January
29th at Target located at 7th Street
and Bell Road.
Hundreds of
participants came out to shred
information-sensitive documents
and turn in unused or unwanted
medications for safe disposal.
More than two tons of documents
were destroyed and six large boxes
of prescription pills were collected
for safe disposal.
If you missed out, two additional
opportunities are coming up.
The next event will be Saturday,
February 8th from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00
p.m. at the Paradise Valley Police
Department located at 6433 East
Lincoln Drive in Paradise Valley
and another Thursday, February
27th from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the
Scottsdale Police Department, 7601
East McKellips Road in Scottsdale.
We are partnering with Scottsdale
PD, State Farm and Cintas for this
event and, in addition to document
shredding, drug disposal and VIN
etching will also be available.
Catching and Prosecuting
Credit Card Thieves
The recent revelation
that a few major national
stores had their corporate
computers hacked should
be a wakeup call for
consumers. Millions of
debit and credit card
users had their personal
information compromised
in part because the national
stores didn’t have enough
computer security to
protect consumers.
Adam Ogus
Deputy County Attorney in the
FITE Bureau
“Many times the stolen
information is not only used by the thief but may be posted
or traded between thieves,” said Karen Pugh, Acting Chief of
the Fraud and Identity Theft Enforcement (FITE) Bureau of the
Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. “People should also be
aware that the theft of credit information isn’t just something
that happens to those big name stores.”
Adam Ogus, a Deputy County Attorney in the FITE Bureau,
recently completed the prosecution of 43-year-old Mesa
resident James Miller.
“Miller was associated with a number of stolen identity cases
where he would use victim credit card information encoded
on gift cards that he would steal from merchants,” Orgus
explained. “In each case he would enter a retail store and
purchase items with credit cards he fraudulently produced.
He was apprehended with multiple fraudulent credit cards.”
Phoenix Police executed a search warrant at a local hotel room
where Miller was staying and found his computer. A forensic
analysis of the laptop showed that the Miller possessed over
7,000 pages of victim credit card numbers representing roughly
72,000 victims. The laptop also contained credit encoding
software and images used to forge credit cards and driver
licenses.
Miller was charged with multiple counts of Theft of a Credit
Card, Taking the Identity of Another, and Possession of a
Dangerous Drug. He pled guilty to nine felony counts and was
sentenced to serve 11.25 years in the Arizona Department of
Corrections.
Upcoming Events Calendar
Shred-A-Thon/Rx Drug Take Back
Saturday, February 8
Scottsdale PD Shredding Event
Thursday, February 27
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Paradise Valley Police Department
6433 East Lincoln Drive
Paradise Valley, AZ 85253
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Scottsdale Police Department
7601 East McKellips Road
Scottsdale, AZ 85257
Events are subject to change. Check MaricopaCountyAttorney.org to stay up to date with our events.
Cases of Community Interest
Jose Nevares Indicted for 2006 Cold Case Murder
More than seven years after 75-year-old Patricia Staggs was beaten to death in her home, the man
alleged to be responsible for her murder has been identified and charged. Jose Manuel Muros
Nevares, who is currently in prison for unrelated offenses, is now under indictment for one count
of Burglary and one count of 1st Degree Felony Murder. Cold Case Detectives with the Maricopa
County Attorney’s Office and the Phoenix Police Department worked together to identify the
defendant and submit the case to a Grand Jury for charging.
“This indictment marks an important and long awaited step toward achieving justice for a
senseless and brutal murder of an innocent member of our community,” said Maricopa County
Attorney Bill Montgomery. “This case is just the latest of many we expect to resolve using
advanced investigatory techniques in collaboration with our law enforcement partners throughout the County,”
he added.
http://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/newsroom/news-releases/2014/2014-01-09-Jose-Nevares-Indictedfor-2006-Cold-Case-Murder.html
Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Scottsdale Crime Lab Blood Alcohol Results
The Arizona Court of Appeals has cleared the way for 10 DUI cases to move forward after determining that blood
alcohol content results provided by the Scottsdale Crime Lab are admissible under Arizona Rules of Evidence.
This ruling vacates a previous Superior Court finding that the methods used to test the defendants’ blood samples
were not properly applied.
“The Appeals Court clearly saw through this attempt by the DUI defense industry to impugn the validity of the
evidence in these cases,” remarked Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “We continue to have confidence
in our law enforcement partners at the Scottsdale Crime Lab and we look forward to the opportunity to hold these
defendants accountable for making the wrong choice to drive under the influence and threaten the safety of other
members of our community,” he added.
http://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/newsroom/news-releases/2014/2014-01-14-Appeals-Court-RejectsChallenge-to-Scottsdale-Crime-Lab-Blood-Alcohol-Results.html
Maricopa County
Attorney’s Office
Cases of Community Interest
Patrick Ryon Sentenced for 1980 Cold Case Murder
More than three decades after the murder of 19 year-old Alison Mims, her killer has been
brought to justice. Patrick C. Ryon was sentenced to a term of 18 years in the Arizona
Department of Corrections. Ryon pled guilty to Second Degree Murder last October and
acknowledged that he strangled Alison to death in December 1980 and left her body in a
remote desert area. Her remains were discovered in 1987 and identified in 2010.
“This sentence closes a chapter in a family’s long quest for justice and puts an end to
the efforts by this defendant to escape the consequences for his actions,” said Maricopa
County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “This successful prosecution also underscores the firm
commitment of my office and our law enforcement partners to hold offenders accountable no matter how
long it takes,” he added.
http://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/newsroom/news-releases/2014/2014-01-17-Patrick-Ryon-Sentencedfor-1980-Cold-Case-Murder.html
Johnathan Doody Convicted a Second Time for 1991 Temple Murders
A man accused of the worst mass murder in Arizona history has been found guilty by a
Maricopa County jury for a second time more than two decades after the crime. Johnathan
A. Doody was originally convicted in 1993 for robbing and fatally shooting nine people in a
Phoenix Buddhist temple in 1991. His convictions were later overturned and he was retried
twice. His first retrial ended in a mistrial last year.
“This verdict confirms that the passage of time has not obscured the guilt of this defendant,
nor has it diminished our commitment to seek justice for the nine innocent victims whose
lives were senselessly taken,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “We now
look forward to the imposition of an appropriate sentence that will hold him accountable for this horrible
crime,” he added.
http://www.maricopacountyattorney.org/newsroom/news-releases/2014/2014-01-23-Jonathan-DoodyConvicted-for-1991-Temple-Murders.html
Maricopa County
Attorney’s Office