UPDATE 12:33pm: Added identities of two of those who died. — Four people died on the road between Parker and Desert Center on Monday, according to news reports. Photo courtesy Brian Mumey and the Los Angeles Times Two soccer coaches from a Chino Hills high school were among those killed. Matt Hodges, 30, was the head coach of the varsity …

UPDATE, NOV 2017: A body matching that of Sandy Giles has been found. See the separate article on the discovery HERE. UPDATE: It’s been over 2 months since Sandy went missing. There’s still no better information on what may have happened to her. UPDATE: Any new updates can be found at the Help Find Sandy Giles Facebook page, which is …

Sheriff Bill Risen and Captain Curt Bagby stopped by the studio of KLPZ 1380am Monday to talk about the challenges of operating the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department on reduced funding. Risen, elected in November, told Parker Live‘s John Wright that he has been asked to cut $30,000 per month from the department’s budget, and has not resolved how to …

Sheriff Bill Risen is running on the bare minimum in funding, he says, and is worried that it may not be enough. Speaking to the Board of Supervisors on Monday morning, Risen said that his department has handled 1,295 calls in the last 30 days with minimal staff, including: vehicle collision investigations medical calls disturbance calls assistance calls assaults thefts …

Some Parker schools were locked down while law enforcement arrested a suspect armed with a knife Monday morning. Parker High School, Wallace Junior High School and Wallace Elementary School were placed into lockdown as a precautionary measure, according to Parker Police Department. “Law enforcement received information there was an adult male, possibly armed with a knife, running toward Parker High …

“You can’t make this stuff up.” So said District 2 Supervisor Duce Minor in a special meeting of the La Paz County Board of Supervisors this past week, addressing an agenda item which came after an online posting by someone purporting to be the legendary ‘Goatman’. Item 2 on Wednesday’s agenda asked the Board to vote to send a ‘cease …

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has announced the appointment of Matthew Newman to the La Paz County Superior Court. Current judge Samuel Vederman announced his retirement at the end of December, saying that he had sent a letter to the Governor’s office about his intention to step down in June. Newman has been an attorney in private practice in the Parker …

On a Friday afternoon two summers ago, police stopped a car in the parking lot at Safeway in Parker. Beverly Pool, a passenger in the vehicle, was taken into custody. She died of a morphine overdose in her cell during the night. Now, $191,000 is set to be paid to 8 of Beverly’s family members in a proposed settlement in …

A multi-agency interdiction detail has netted approximately 30 pounds of suspected methamphetamine on Interstate 10 in Quartzsite. Last Wednesday the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department hosted an interdiction detail on Interstate 10. The agencies involved were the La Paz County Sheriff’s Department, Narcotics Task Force, Colorado River Indian Tribes Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol and the Quartzsite Police Department. At …

UPDATE 3pm: Added details about supervision of the Public Defender role. — Kathy Field was dismissed Monday as La Paz County’s Public Defender after the Board of Supervisors emerged from an executive session on the topic of her employment. In a 2-1 decision, with dissent from Supervisor Holly Irwin, the majority of the Board voted to let Field go from …