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AJ Man Charged In
City’s 1st Homocide Of ‘07
 Body found in trunk of stolen vehicle—
Dispute over computer thought to be the
motive
By Cindy McSperitt
The News
APACHE JUNCTION- An
Apache Junction man was arrested
early Sunday, April 22, 2007 and
charged with murder after police
received a call at approximately 1:30
a.m. from the 2000 block of S.
Lawther Drive in Apache Junction.
The man placing the call, Ricardo
M. Estrada, said he had just been
“involved in a shooting”, according
to Apache Junction Police Department
(AJPD) Civilian Commander
Jay Swart.
Swart said when police arrived at
the scene, they found “significant
evidence of blood”, but could not
find a body. Swart added that
Estrada tried to lead police into
believing the victim had fled.
Swart said police continued their
investigation and soon received a
“tip” on a vehicle that had been seen
leaving the residence. The vehicle
was located in the 3000 block
of W. 20th Avenue in Apache Junction.
Swart said when police inspected
the vehicle, which was later determined
to be stolen, they discovered
a “suspicious-looking object”
that appeared to be a bomb. The
bomb squad was called in and used
a “water cannon” to disarm the
bomb. Swart said when police were
certain the vehicle had been made
safe, they conducted a more thorough
inspection and discovered
the body in the trunk.
See
A-1
Local Students Nearly
Sweep Pinal County Contest
 ‘Character Counts’ essay contest winners
PINAL COUNTY- Apache Junction
Unified School District
(AJUSD) students have taken the
majority of the winners’ spots in
the K-8 divisions of a countywide
essay contest sponsored by the
Pinal County Juvenile Court. The
agency recently announced the
winners of the “Character Counts
Essay” contest and AJUSD students
took nine out of the top 12
prizes.
The theme for this year’s essay
was to elaborate on which character
trait the writer feels is most
important.
More than 400 students
county-wide submitted entries.
Students will receive their awards
at the Character Counts Essay
Contest Awards Ceremony, Thursday,
May 10 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. at
the Pinal County Courthouse.
Winners are as follows:
Division 1 (K-3 Grades)
1st Place - Jessica Smith - Peralta
Trail School, 3rd Place - Lindsey
Lofgren - Peralta Trail School.
Honorable
Mention - Kayla McGown -
Peralta Trail school
Division 2 (4-6 Grades)
1st Place - Zack Renowden - Desert
Shadows Middle School, 2nd Place
- Zack Galvez - Desert Shadows
Middle School, 3rd Place - Jacob
Schow - Peralta Trail Elementary.
Division 3 (7-8 Grades)
2nd Place - Paulina Ortiz - Desert
Shadows, 3rd Place - Andrew
Flippin - Desert Shadows. Honorable
Mention - Augustin Mares -
Desert Shadows Middle School
Police Honored At
Awards Ceremony
 Jeff
Davis named Officer of the Year
By Jill Jones
The News
APACHE JUNCTION- The
Apache Junction Police Department
(AJPD) held an awards ceremony
on Wednesday, April 25,
2007 recognizing officers, volunteers
and civilian employees for
their contribution and service to the
department and the community.
Chief of Police Glenn Walp welcomed
those attending and Mayorelect
Johnny Insalaco voiced his
support of the department and his
commitment to do the best could to
ensure they don’t remain the
lowest paid force in the Valley.
Officer Jeff Davis, who joined the
department in January of 2006 was
named Officer of the Year, the
“highest honor any employee can
be given,” said Walp who extolled
Davis’s virtues of personal bravery
and self sacrifice.
Walp explained that Davis has
been facing some very critical medical
issues that have required extensive
surgeries and subsequent rehabilitation.
“Though his recovery
has been difficult at times, Jeff has
never swayed from his dedication
to this department and the citizens
we serve,” said Walp, who went on
to explain that despite his medical
problems, Davis comes to work as
often as he can. “This professional
attitude speaks mountains of Jeff’s
character and his desire to return
to full duty again. He never faltered
under severe adversity and this in
and of itself deems him worthy of
this prestigious award.”
See
A-1
and see Honors,
page
A-6
AJHS Girls Finish 3rd
In Region Softball
 Lady Prospectors to battle Tempe this
Tuesday in first round of region
tourney; need one win to get to ‘State’
By Chuck Baker
The News
Despite suffering losses to
East Sky Region opponents
Queen Creek and Tempe last
week, the Lady Prospectors
were able to hang onto a third
place finish in the final region
standings with a 4-6 record.
Apache Junction also split a
non-region doubleheader with
Page on Friday and currently sits
at number ten overall in the 4AII
power point rankings with a
17-14-2 overall mark.
As the region’s third place
team, Apache Junction will
open East Sky Region tournament
play this Tuesday, May 1
against the second-seeded team
Tempe. The game will be played
at 4:00 p.m. at a neutral site at
Marcos De Niza High School,
6000 S. Lakeshore Drive in
Tempe.
See
C-1
and see Softball,
C-6
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