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Sheriff’s Deputy Drunk
On Duty
 Blood alcohol content of .12 — Despite
evidence, Sgt. not arrested or fired
By Ed Barker
The News
FLORENCE— A patrol sergeant
in the Pinal County
Sheriff’s Office is under
investigation for allegedly
showing up to his weapons
qualifications test under the
influence of alcohol.
Sgt. Ronald Ryan was on
duty at the time and was removed
from the firing range
early on the morning of
Wednesday, February 18,
after an instructor reported smelling
alcohol on Ryan.
According to sources in the
sheriff’s office, Ryan drove
his patrol car to the range and
several sports drink bottles
that had been filled with alcohol
were found in Ryan’s patrol
car at the scene. Sources
also said Ryan took a breath
test that registered a blood
alcohol content of .12, more
than one and a half times the
legal limit for driving.
Despite the evidence, Ryan
was not arrested.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul
Babeu told reporters, “Somebody
has to place you behind
the wheel or by the admission
of that person who is suspected.
We don’t have all the facts
or information at this point.”
Asked bluntly if Ryan would
be arrested or fired for being
drunk on duty, Babeu hedged
the question, saying only that
blood tests and witness statements
will likely be the deciding
factors in whether or
not Ryan is arrested or fired
from his job.
This was Ryan’s third attempt to pass his weapons qualification
test after failing the first two
attempts.
See
A-1
False Alarms Pose
Problem
 Less than 10% are real incidents in 2008
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
During the year 2008, the
Pinal County Sheriff’s Office
received 3,995 alarm calls. Of
those, only 32, or 0.8 percent,
resulted in incidents.
Those numbers are disturbing
to the PCSO.
“False alarms present a serious
threat to the effectiveness
of the Pinal County Sheriff’s
Office and to the safety of our
citizens,” said Lt. Tami Villar,
the PCSO public information
officer.
“False alarm calls are costly
and dangerous because they
divert sheriff deputies from
proactive crime prevention
efforts. They also delay response
to calls which may be
a true emergency.”
A false alarm is any alarm
caused by human error or
equipment problems resulting
in law enforcement response,
with no evidence of an actual
crime having been committed.
Residents get three false
alarm calls free annually. Afterward,
the fine is $71 for
each false alarm.
The Pinal County Board of
Supervisors adopted an alarm
system ordinance, effective
January 1, 2003, to regulate
the amount of false alarms
that occur. All alarm users are
required to obtain an annual
alarm permit, which costs
$10. Permits are renewed annually for an
additional $10.
The fee for failure to obtain
or renew a license is $25; failure
to pay a fine adds $10 per
month charge.
See
A-1
and Tips To Eliminate False Alarms,
A-10
Technology Saves Hikers
 GPS system & cell phone saves man,
brother
By Christina Fuoco-Karasinski
The News
A GPS system and a quick
phone call aided Superstition
Search and Rescue in saving
the lives of two brothers injured
during an overnight hike
in the Superstition Mountains
Sunday, February 15.
“Last Sunday, two brothers,
Richard and Chris (Stauber)
with their dog (Loki) began
hiking for an overnight trip
from Lost Dutchman State
Park up the northern face of
the Superstitions to camp on
an edge overlooking our beautiful
city lights,” said Robert
Cooper of Superstition Search
and Rescue.
“After a chilly night and
campfire, morning came and
they began preparing to hike
down when Chris lost his balance
and Richard grabbed
hold only to send both of them
over a 60-foot cliff.”
The duo landed on jagged
rocks, Cooper said, rendering
them both unconscious.
Chris Stauber, 29, of Glendale, came to,
screaming in
pain, and realized his only
hope was to “suck up” and
climb back up to get his cell
phone. Superstition Search
and Rescue received the 9-1-
1 call at 9:15 a.m.
See
A-1
and see Rescue,
A-3
LD Marathon Tops 2,500
Participants
 No
new running records; 191 runners from
Apache Jct., Gold Canyon
By Chuck Baker
The News
The eighth running of the
Lost Dutchman Marathon
on Sunday, February 15,
drew more than 2,500 participants
setting a new attendance
mark but none of
the five events, marathon,
half-marathon, 10K, 8K
and 2-mile Fun Run/Walk
saw new record times established.
In the main event, the
26.2-mile marathon that
started at Peralta Trailhead,
winding through the streets
of Gold Canyon before
ending up at Prospector
Park in Apache Junction,
Blue Benadum from Malibu,
Calif., won the men’s
race with a time of 2:42.14
while Mary Hanna of Maple
Valley, Wash., won the
women’s race with a time
of 3:17.19.
LD Marathon records are
2:30.57 for men set back
in 2004 by Wilson Kagiri
Gatiha of Kenya and
3:04.43 set last year by
Tracy Thelen of Colorado
Springs, Colo.
The top local marathoner
were Lawrence Wharton
of Gold Canyon with a personal
best time of 3:38.47,
good for 55th place overall
in the men’s race. No runners
from Gold Canyon or
Apache Junction competed
in the women’s marathon,
although several runners
from Mesa did participate.
There were a total of 369
finishers in the marathon
event.
See
B-1
and see LDM,
page
C-3
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