Repeat Arrestee and Lost Hiker

I had the pleasure of arresting the same guy I arrested weeks ago. Last time it was for pouring a drink on a bar manager after being asked to leave: (http://officergary.blogspot.com/2006/08/new-beat.html).

This time, he was eating lunch at a family pizza restaurant when he became angry at some kids sitting near his table. They were part of a large party dining on the patio and the kids came in to watch the football game on T.V. The man told them to go back outside and sit with their parents. He then called them 'dipshits' and shouted, "get your asses outside with your family." A 13 year old boy said, "You're not my dad and I don't have to listen to you." The man grabbed this kid by the arm and started dragging him toward th exit door. The kid got loose and ran outside so the man grabbed another 13 year old by by the shirt and threw him into a table. The mother of the boys wrote down the license plate of the car as the man drove away and then called police. I drove to his beautiful million-dollar house about a mile away and knocked on his front door. He admitted to being at the restaurant and to "scolding" the kids. I arrested him on two counts of aggravated assault (automatically 'aggravated' if the victim is under 15 years old). His previous misdemeanor assault charge is still pending and now he has two felony charges to deal with. He has an obvious temper problem made worse by his alcohol abuse.

Last night we received a call from a friend of a hiker who had left for Camelback Mountain at 5:00 am and never came home. We found his truck parked at the popular Echo Canyon trailhead. It was about 8:00 pm and there was no sign of him. His friends told us he liked to jog on the mountain trails about four times a week and was very knowledgeable about the mountain. He had his cell phone with him but was not answering our repeated calls. After searching the mountain trails for a few hours on foot (and with the helicopter) it was decided to postpone the search until morning. I saw a news story this morning that he was found dead from an apparant fall.