It does not matter if it’s your first Arizona Summer or you’re a Valley Native, triple-digit temperatures always feel worse than we either imagined or remembered. As the mercury rises, we start our summer traditions of testing the limits of our air conditioners and searching out the tiniest sliver of shade to park. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is also kicking off a summer tradition of making sure drivers know kids and pets cannot be left in parked cars.

This summer the Office is excited to partner with Phoenix Children’s Hospital, Arizona Humane Society and Penguin Air & Plumbing for the “Don’t Leave Me Behind!” vehicular heatstroke awareness campaign. The campaign officially starts on May 8 and will run until August 31, giving the campaign a full four months to raise awareness and keep the number of incidents of children and pets left in hot cars to zero.
 
“Deaths associated with hot cars are a completely preventable tragedy for both our children and our pets,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “My personal challenge to every one of us in Maricopa County is to ensure no child or pet is lost to vehicular heatstroke this year.”
 
Vehicular heatstroke is listed as the number one cause of deaths in non-collision vehicle fatalities for children 14 and younger, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It is important to know that the risk of vehicular heatstroke can occur in air temperatures of 80 degrees or less and even as low as 57 degrees. Interior temperatures can quickly rise to dangerous levels even with the windows slightly rolled down. Young children are especially at risk because they can fall asleep during a car ride, making it easier for a driver not to notice them when the vehicle is parked, and for infants who are less capable of regulating their body temperature.
 
“We lead busy lives, especially as parents of young children,” says Todd Nickoles, manager of Phoenix Children’s Center for Family Health and Safety. “We want parents and caregivers to know how much of a ‘hot zone’ that their vehicle can be, and never to leave a child alone in a car, truck or van.”
 
The SafeKidsAZ.org webpage is filled with information, tips and videos to help spread the message and educate our Community about this issue. The site also reminds residents that leaving a child or pet in a vehicle is potentially fatal and, in some circumstances, a criminal offense.
 
“Last year, the passing of House Bill 2494, which aims to end hot car deaths, gives good Samaritans and AHS’ animal cruelty investigators an additional tool to save a life when necessary,” said Arizona Humane Society President and CEO, Dr. Steven Hansen. “It is our hope that through education and awareness we can work together to prevent these tragedies before it reaches that point.”
 
You are encouraged to help the campaign achieve its goal of zero incidents of children and pets left in hot cars this summer by using the hashtag #DontLeaveMeBehind and help to spread awareness.

On April 19 and 20, Dr. Stanton Samenow, a leading expert on the criminal personality and author of Inside the Criminal Mind, came to Phoenix to speak to a gathering of criminal justice professionals. This event, co-sponsored by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) and the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council (APAAC), had attendees including prosecutors, probation officers and members of law enforcement.
 
Dr. Samenow’s presentation focused on why people commit crimes. What might influence one person to commit a crime when another person in a similar situation does not.
 
Many causes are often ascribed to the reasons for criminal behavior such as poverty, an abusive upbringing or being “spoiled.” According to Dr. Samenow, behavior is a product of thinking and by quickly labeling a criminal, you may excuse the behavior and hide the underlying reasons for the criminal activity. 

In two recent cases, local law enforcement worked to stop the sale of narcotic pills that potentially could have killed any unsuspecting street drug user. At the end of February and again at the end of March, multiple defendants were charged in incidents involving the sale of fake oxycodone pills containing deadly amounts of fentanyl. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office issued a warning after charging the cases to put the Community on notice about the danger these pills posed and tried to raise awareness about the increasing use of fentanyl in the manufacturing of illegal drugs.
 
“If law enforcement had not been vigilant in stopping these crimes and preventing the public safety threat these pills posed to our community, lives very well may have been lost,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “In the absence of the Legislature addressing the specific threat of fentanyl trafficking, my Office will use all available tools to protect the public from this deadly threat.”
 
On February 27, 2018 officers stopped a car they believed had been involved in a drug sale. Investigators found approximately 4,000 fake oxycodone pills inside the vehicle that were later determined to contain fentanyl. Three men were taken into custody by officers in connection to the case, 37-year-old Rigoberto Herrera, 30-year-old Leonides Martinez-Escobar, and 32-year-old Santos Valdez-Lopez. Each of the defendants has been charged with possession of Narcotic Drugs for Sale, a Class 2 Felony.
 
On March 28, 2018 officers learned of a planned drug sale of 1,000 fentanyl pills marked to look like oxycodone. Investigators were able to arrest a man and woman in connection to the sale and recovered more than 600 fake oxycodone pills later determined to contain fentanyl. Prosecutors charged 29-year-old Edgar Camargo and 35-year-old Agueda Johnston with the Sale or Transportation of Narcotic Drugs, a Class 2 Felony.
 
Link to press conference: https://youtu.be/I0DZq99R7Cs?t=75

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and the MCAO Victim Services Division recognized several individuals during the 2018 MCAO Victims’ Rights Awards Ceremony last month. This year’s theme, Expand the Circle – Reach All Victims, emphasizes the importance of inclusion in victim services, recognizes how this important work ensures every victim has access to services and support and how organizations work with communities to reach all victims. MCAO employees submitted nominations to honor the great work done by members of the Office and members of the community who excelled in their service to victims in five categories. Winners of the 2018 MCAO Victims’ Right Awards are: 

• MCAO Detective Robert Furneaux won the Leadership Award
• Scottsdale Police Department Detectives Andrew Parrott, Brooke Scritchfield, Tara Ford, Advocate Kelly Wills and MCAO Detective Joe Plummer won the Collaboration Award
• Victims Denise Corral and Melina Gibbons won the Resilience Award
• MCAO Victims Services Division Chief Shawn Cox won the Innovation Award
• MCAO Victim Services Restitution Specialist Denise Lian won the Summit Award 

“MCAO is proud to work with members of the community and law enforcement to achieve our shared mission to expand the circle and reach all victims,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “It is important to reiterate our commitment to respect and apply victims’ rights and the important work being done to address their needs. During National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, we would like to express our appreciation to those who have gone above and beyond to serve crime victims in the pursuit of justice.”
 
To learn more about your rights as a crime victim and for more information on the MCAO Victim Services Division, visit MaricopaCountyAttorney.org/Victims or call (602) 506-8522.
 

Expand the Circle – Reach All Victims