Malnourished Livestock Rescued
On Friday afternoon YCSO Deputies responded to a call from State livestock agents to assist with serving and executing a search warrant at a farm on N. Mohawk Lane in Paulden. During the warrant, multiple malnourished horses were seized. No further information is available from YCSO as the case was under the jurisdiction of the Arizona Department of Agriculture.
Search and Recovery of Deceased Missing Man
On Friday afternoon, a detective from the Phoenix Police Department Missing Persons Unit received information that a vehicle registered to a missing man out of Maricopa County had been located by a citizen near FR 16 near Red Creek just north of the county line. Members of YCSO Backcountry Search and Rescue (SAR), Search Dogs, Sheriff’s Search Air Group, Jeep Posse, and Verde SAR were called out for the search.
While deputies drove to the search staging location, YCSO Dispatch received a call from the Emergency Response Center reporting that a person sent an SOS message claiming to have found a vehicle and the body of the missing man, calling him by name. It was unclear at the time how he knew who the subject was. The reporting party later said that Enterprise Rentals (vehicle owner) told him who the missing subject was.
A YCSO Forest Patrol deputy responded to the remote area about 30 miles east of I-17 with SAR volunteers, located the deceased missing man, and assisted in transporting him out of the area.
The Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death, but it is known that the deceased had a terminal illness.
Man Feigns Fainting Following Fight
On Saturday, deputies responded to a physical family fight on Woodside Drive in Prescott. When deputies arrived, they heard a female inside the home yelling that he (the woman’s husband) would not let her out and screaming for help. Deputies entered the residence, and the husband, Benjamin Weiner, was quickly detained and placed in a patrol vehicle. The victim had scratches from the fight but refused medical attention.
Mr. Weiner, however, began complaining of a multitude of injuries, including a head injury, and even collapsed to the ground while walking to the patrol car. EMS evaluated him, showing that his injuries were inconsistent with his complaints, and his vitals were normal. They saw nothing needing medical attention.
Nevertheless, deputies brought the suspect to the hospital, where he was evaluated and x-rayed and found to be in good health with no injuries other than scratches from the family fight. He was eventually booked into the Verde Jail and charged with tampering with physical evidence, assault per domestic violence, and disorderly conduct per DV.
Cordes Stabbing not a stabbing but still under investigation
On Sunday, deputies responded to what was initially reported as a stabbing at the Cordes Lakes Market in Cordes Lakes. A man who was heavily intoxicated with a visible laceration under his eye claimed to have been stabbed by a member of the Mexican Mafia. He was transported from the Market to YMRC prior to the arrival of YCSO.
Deputies had responded to the victim’s trailer earlier in the day because he had reported the same thing to YCSO but included that a variety of others were after him. At that time, a small pocketknife was found with trace amounts of blood, and the homeowner of the property with the trailer was interviewed. She stated that a Mexican man had come to her door to tell her that the victim had fallen out of his trailer, but she did not check on him because she knew he was intoxicated.
Deputies returned to the trailer after the Cordes Lake Market call and spoke to another person who said she had a verbal altercation with the victim earlier that day, where she pushed him, and he fell.
This morning, deputies reinterviewed the woman who admitted that after she pushed the victim, he pulled out a knife and charged at her. She claimed to have hit him across the face with it, causing him to fall, but that she had not reported the incident to law enforcement.
The case is under investigation as detectives continue to conduct follow-up.
