An Officer Down

Officer George Cortez got the call at 8:30 p.m. on July 27 – Edward James Rose was attempting to cash a forged check at Southwest Check Cashing in west Phoenix. For Officer Cortez, 23, a father of two, it was a fairly customary call on his beat. But like so many calls involving subjects running from the law, the encounter would turn out to be anything but routine. As Officer Cortez entered the store, he was unknowingly about to confront a fugitive with several outstanding warrants, and he was just minutes away from the gunshot to his head that would end his life.

According to police, after confronting Rose, 20, who was accompanied by his 19-year-old girlfriend, Norma Lisa Lopez, Officer Cortez attempted to place Rose in custody. After handcuffing one of his wrists, Rose turned toward Officer Cortez, shot him in the face with a handgun and then fled with Lopez. The two were later arrested at a friend’s home. Both stand accused of first-degree murder and could face the death penalty.

As county law enforcement officials increase dedication to the pursuit of illegal immigrants in the Valley, more than 78,000 fugitives with outstanding warrants are roaming Valley streets. They are wanted for a wide range of crimes, including theft, sexual assault and murder. Their fugitive status makes them a danger to us all. The last three Phoenix police officers killed in the line of duty were killed by suspects who had outstanding arrest warrants.

‘A Huge Problem’

“It’s a huge problem,” said U.S. Marshal David Gonzales in a recent Times interview. Of the 78,000 outstanding warrants in Maricopa County, just over 41,000 are felony warrants, a strikingly high number when compared to other U.S. counties with similar demographics. In Harris County, Texas, for instance, where the population is larger than Maricopa County’s and much of its demographical data runs parallel to the Valley’s, there are less than 10,000 outstanding felony warrants.

 The explosion of growth in the Valley and its number of resident transplants are likely contributors to the high number of fugitives, according to Gonzales. He also cites strict criminal legislation like California’s “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law as reasons for fugitives seeking refuge in the Valley.

“Violent crime is on the increase in Arizona, and one of the primary reasons is the sheer number of fugitives hiding in our communities,” said Gonzales.

The high number makes the already hazardous police work of Valley officers even more dangerous.

Another Officer Down

It was a mild morning, just after 11 a.m. on May 10, 2005, when Officer David Uribe called in a license-plate number on a maroon Chevy Monte Carlo. Uribe, 48 years old and a 22-year veteran of the Phoenix police force, was on his normal patrol. Uribe’s son Adam, also a Phoenix police officer, was on patrol in Phoenix that day.

Outwardly, this traffic stop on Uribe’s regular northwest Phoenix beat looked to be routine.

After pulling over the Monte Carlo, Uribe prepared to approach the vehicle. He was informed by a police dispatcher that the car had been reported stolen. Uribe was about to meet two drug runners, Chris Wilson, 27, and Donald Delahanty, 18, both fugitives with outstanding warrants.

With a gun in hand, Delahanty waited for Uribe to approach the driver’s side. Within seconds, shots were fired. Uribe was struck in the neck and head. He was pronounced dead later that afternoon. Two days later, police found Wilson and Delahanty hiding under trailers in a west Phoenix mobile-home park. The two men were charged with first-degree murder. Wilson later agreed to testify against Delahanty in an effort to avert the death penalty.

“There’s no such animal as a routine traffic stop,” says Mesa Police Chief George Gascon. Gascon has attended far too many officer funerals, though he is grateful he has not had to attend one for any of his reporting officers. “At every stop, someone could potentially have a gun. The majority of stops are going to be eventless … but you always face that the next stop could be the one, and you could be facing a gun.” 

Gascon reminds that there is often a positive correlation between the level of violence a fugitive is prone to and the seriousness of the offense from which he is running when confronted. “When facing life in prison, they have very little to lose.”

Law enforcement agencies across the country are struggling with the increasing number of outstanding warrants. Locally, most police agencies have devised internal programs for finding the area’s most violent wanted criminals, and in certain situations, partner with one another to achieve a broader reach in their investigations. Often, the agency leading the charge is the U.S. Marshal’s Office.

The primary aim of the U.S. Marshal’s Office is to capture national and international fugitives, and may represent one of Maricopa County’s most valuable resources, logging around 400 fugitive arrests each month.

Partnerships between law enforcement agencies have proven to be valuable alliances in reducing the number of outstanding warrants in other U.S. counties. In Maricopa County, the Sheriff’s Office often elects not to participate in the multi-agency roundups.

When Gonzales is asked if he is concerned that the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is not giving the fugitive issue enough attention, he nods slowly and begins talking about law enforcement priorities. “Jose down at the corner is wanting to make some money, and although technically violating a law, as a law enforcement official, would you spend your time with that individual or do you want to get a predator off the street? To me, there’s no choice, regardless of how you feel about the immigration issue.”

Wrangling Over Resources

In August, 25 law enforcement agencies from both Maricopa and Pima Counties participated in one of the most high-profile fugitive capture initiatives ever undertaken in the state, but the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office elected not to participate, pointing to limited resources as the reason.

Instead, the MCSO has stepped up its efforts in fighting illegal immigration, and it stands by its decision, contending it is what the constituents of Maricopa County are asking for. Enforcing immigration policy hasn’t always been Sheriff Arpaio’s aim, however. In a recent edition of The Arizona Republic, columnist E.J. Montini reminded readers of a quote from Arpaio in 2005 in which he minimized the importance of arresting so-called day laborers. “I am not going to waste my resources going after a guy in a truck when he picks up five illegals to go trim palm trees,” Arpaio was quoted as saying.

 Since 2005, as the immigration debate has taken center stage, so has Sheriff Arpaio’s stance on the pursuit of illegal immigrants, attributing his now aggressive focus on capturing illegal immigrants to the availability of more resources. 

“When I see the Sheriff’s department putting resources in immigration when they have burglaries, robberies and rapes on a daily basis … I think there’s a problem there. They have their priorities mixed up,” says U.S. Marshal Gonzales. “I understand [illegal immigrants] have broken the law, but immigration is the least of the issues. What I’m trying to stress is that we have a major crime wave going on. We have these fugitives, they are dangerous and they have a direct effect on people’s everyday lives … We want to get the thugs off the street.”

Police chiefs in the Valley have also been vocal in recent months about the focus on illegal immigration and the burden it places on law enforcement. “We would rather focus on violent crime, auto theft, armed robbery and sexual assault than be tied up with administrative violations,” said Ralph Tranter, executive director of the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police.

At an Oct. 8 press conference, Valley police chiefs spoke out against placing pressure on officers to enforce immigration law, saying instead that police officers should focus resources on more serious crime. As crime rates rise, police are growing concerned with the inevitable delay in response times to calls for assistance. “Violent crime, serious crime, must be the priority,” Tranter said. Tranter, Gonzalez and Chief Gascon all clearly stated they were not taking a stand on the immigration issue, but rather expressing vital concern for public safety.

When asked to address the assertions in an interview, Sheriff Arpaio refused, instead issuing a statement through a spokesman.

In an e-mail, Captain Paul Chagolla, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, responded to questions related to the diversion of county resources to capturing illegal immigrants and addressed accusations of a lack of focus by the Sheriff’s Department on the high number of outstanding warrants in the county. Chagolla said that such accusations appeared to be designed to “deflect scrutiny” on immigration issues and “relieve the pressure felt by other state law enforcement agencies for not aggressively acting upon immigration issues.”

Though the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office is often not a participating agency in joint efforts across the state, it does occasionally conduct its own fugitive roundups.

Round ‘Em Up

On a recent August afternoon, Richard Robinson’s (name changed for this story) wife received a call for her husband in their Mesa home. His wife jotted down the message. The person calling said he was from a Los Angeles promotional company called Front Runners Promotions. The company was throwing a party on August 24 for the opening of its Scottsdale branch, and Robinson was not only invited, but he had a chance at a role as an extra in an upcoming movie starring “The Rock,” actor Dwayne Johnson.

Robinson, a wanted man, was curious, so he dialed the number left in the message. While waiting for someone to pick up, Robinson describes hearing a short audio “blip.” The recording said something about the Sheriff’s Department. Robinson was suspicious. When he got someone on the phone, the man, Jason Hayes, gave a similar spiel and further explained that Robinson had been referred to play an extra in the film. Hayes said if Robinson showed up at the party he would be paid $500 cash for two to four hours of work and would be picked up in a limousine. When Robinson asked about the strange audio recording, Hayes said the Sheriff’s Office was a client; the company did its promotions.

Robinson gave the company his e-mail address and received a promotional flier later that day. The bottom of the flier read, “We know this sounds too good to be true – but it’s not.”

“I was born at night, but I wasn’t born last night,” Robinson said. Robinson made a few calls. Front Runner Promotions did not hold a business license in Scottsdale or Los Angeles, and the company did not appear to be listed anywhere in California or Arizona.

During the month of September, the Sheriff’s Office arrested 300 wanted persons on charges such as deadbeat parenting and child abuse.

In addition to periodic roundups and saturation patrols, the Sheriff’s Office also manages two online fugitive databases for citizens and provides access for other law enforcement agencies to investigate criminal networks within the Sheriff’s jail system.

The Sheriff’s Office did provide assistance in another U.S. Marshal’s Office initiative – a fugitive surrender program piloted in Nov. 2006. Fugitives were invited to surrender at a local church and, in turn, were granted favorable consideration when they appeared before a judge. Over a four-day period, 1,300 fugitives turned themselves in to law enforcement. The Sheriff’s Office provided administrative and security assistance as well as fugitive transportation.

Bringing the Numbers Down

In Maricopa County, the Sheriff’s Office claims to look to the citizens and elected officials for direction in law enforcement. “The heat comes from the citizens we all serve (i.e. the ballot initiatives dealing with illegal immigration that were recently passed with nearly 80 percent approval) and from elected officials, including criminal justice officials Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas,” according Chagolla.

After reviewing numerous relevant factors in census data of counties nationwide for this story, Harris County, Texas was determined to have similar demographic characteristics to Maricopa County, including population size, number of educated residents and a large immigrant population due to its proximity to Mexico.

Despite the numerous similarities, Harris County holds 75 percent fewer outstanding felony warrants than Maricopa County.

With 9,700 outstanding felony warrants, Harris County has managed to lower its crime rate in the past year, logging fewer reports of murders, burglaries and sexual offenses.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office devotes significant time and resources to managing the number of fugitives on the streets. The office has a division of approximately 40 personnel whose sole mission, according to Martin, is to locate and apprehend wanted persons.  The office also participates in a task force with the U.S. Marshal’s Office and the Houston Police Department, as well as other agencies. The task force focuses on violent offenders, said Martin.

Harris county also has an “outstanding” Crime Stoppers office that acts as a conduit of information between anonymous citizens and law enforcement. The office also pays cash rewards when warranted, he said.

Martin attributes Harris County’s success to a team effort. “It's a function of both our own work and good relationships with other agencies working together for the same purpose – getting wanted persons off the streets,” he said.

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