APACHE JUNCTION, AZ (AZFamily) — A driver crashed into an Apache Junction portable speeding enforcement trailer while driving under the influence, according to police.

Apache Junction police said the crash near Ironwood Drive and Broadway Avenue damaged the trailer, its digital display and its control box.

Detectives said the driver admitted to drinking alcohol and using methamphetamine and marijuana earlier that day.

A driver crashed into an Apache Junction portable speeding enforcement trailer while driving under the influence, according to police.(Apache Junction Police Department)

The driver was arrested on charges of DUI, possession of dangerous drugs and criminal damage to police property.

No one was injured in the crash, but the sign will need repairs, police said.

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The Sheriff's Office says there is evidence the teenager was hit by a car and he could have other injuries that are also being investigated.

SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ — A 16-year-old has died in San Tan Valley, after being found on the street with life-threatening injuries, according to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

At around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, deputies received a call about a welfare check on Murray Grey Drive near Empire Boulevard and Gary Road.

When deputies arrived, they located the teen on the road with serious injuries.

He was airlifted to a Valley hospital with life-threatening injuries, according to PCSO, but the Sheriff's Office confirmed to ABC15 Friday night that the teenager had died.

Authorities say there is evidence that suggests he was hit by a car and could have had other injuries that are also being investigated.

Detectives took three juvenile males into custody for questioning. They were later released pending further investigation.

Officials say all of the males knew each other.

Tarah Rossi made the initial 911 call.

Around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, she says she noticed a car on the quiet street near her San Tan Valley home.

"I saw a car on, with its headlights on, parked in front of the house, and I could hear them going back and forth about something," Rossi said.

As she was heading inside, she didn't see anything, but Rossi says she heard a loud noise.

"They took off, they screeched really loud when they took off," Rossie said. "And then I heard the loudest crash."

The noise prompted her to go back outside.

"They drove down the street really fast, and I saw their brake lights, and they took the corner," she said.

Then, Rossi realized there was a person lying in the street.

"He seemed completely unconscious," she said.

Rossi says when she called 911, Pinal County Sheriff's Deputies arrived in minutes.

"Fire trucks came, I saw a helicopter flying overhead," neighbor Tom Kessler said.

Kessler says the area was taped off and filled with emergency responders.

"I could just see a person laying on their back, and officers were pumping the person’s chest," he said.

Neighbors say the boy was taken away by ambulance, before he was medevaced to a hospital, according to the Sheriff's Office.

PCSO says right now there is not evidence to make any arrests.

"It’s a horrible tragedy," Catherine Kessler, Kessler's wife, said.

"Pray for the family," Tom Kessler added.

As the investigation into what exactly happened to the 16-year-old continues, neighbors have him, and his loved ones, in their thoughts.

"I just feel awful for his family," Rossi said. "I can’t imagine how his mom feels. That’s just the instant thought last night, I can't imagine the call his mom is going to get."

If anybody has any other information contact the Pinal County Sheriff's Office at 520-866-5111 and ask for Detective Ramon Gonzalez.

Vestar, one of the largest privately held shopping center owners and managers in the western United States, is continuing the rollout of Verrado Marketplace, the new 500,000-square-foot retail and lifestyle destination serving Buckeye and the West Valley, with a growing lineup of retailers, restaurants, services and entertainment concepts opening through the remainder of 2026.

DEEPER DIVE: Festival Ranch Marketplace is coming to Buckeye

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Shops opening this September include Gap Factory, Just Sports, Paramount Hair & Extensions, Pacific Dental Services, and Zara Nails & Spa, followed by several highly anticipated restaurants, retailers and entertainment concepts this fall and winter.

“We’re excited to see Verrado Marketplace continue coming to life as new retailers, restaurants and services open their doors,” said Harrison Cole, leasing and development manager at Vestar. “The response from the Buckeye and greater West Valley community has been extremely positive, and this next phase of openings will bring even more of the shopping, dining, entertainment and everyday conveniences residents have been looking forward to. With several major concepts still to come, there is a lot more excitement ahead.”

The momentum will continue this fall with the highly anticipated debut of The District on October 15. SALT, Handel’s Homemade Ice Cream and Shake Shack will open first.

Emersa, a new speakeasy concept inspired by the wonder of observatories and immersive technology, is expected to debut in November. The space will feature 4K VR displays, projection mapping, light, sound, and atmosphere to transform guests into shifting universes for a unique cocktail lounge experience. Also opening in November is another anchor tenant, Safeway, bringing a 63,500-square-foot full-service grocery option to the development.

Verrado Marketplace will close out the year with Harkins Verrado Theatres and BackLot, a 65,000-square-foot theatre and entertainment destination as well as OHSO Brewery & Distillery, BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse, and Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

Following the debut of anchor tenants Target, Marshalls and HomeGoods, Verrado Marketplace has opened several additional businesses throughout the summer- Einstein Bros. Bagels, Great Clips, CityVet, NextCare Urgent Care, Ross Dress for Less, Kay Jewelers, Elite Shutters & Blinds, See’s Candies, Sourdough & Co., and America’s Best, Famous Footwear, Bath & Body Works, Buckle, and Ulta Beauty.

Once complete, Verrado Marketplace will feature more than 55 retailers and businesses, including a curated mix of national and local brands, chef-driven restaurants, services, and entertainment options designed to serve the rapidly growing West Valley.

Designed as more than a shopping center, Verrado Marketplace will serve as a community gathering place with outdoor amenities including a splash pad, live performance stage with a large video screen and a half-acre community green surrounded by restaurants and gathering spaces. The center will also introduce Vestar’s Sip & Stroll program, allowing guests 21 and older to enjoy alcoholic beverages in designated common areas. Regular programming, including live music, holiday celebrations, and community events, will activate the property throughout the year.

Located at the northeast corner of Interstate 10 and Verrado Way, Verrado Marketplace sits at the entrance to DMB Associates’ 8,800-acre Verrado master-planned community. With a $275 million total investment, the development is projected to generate more than $50 million in tax revenue for the city of Buckeye, contribute an estimated $1.8 billion in economic output over the next 10 years and create more than 1,500 permanent jobs in the West Valley.

For more information about Vestar, visit Vestar.com. For more information about Verrado Marketplace, visit AtVerradoMarketplace.com.

A Tennessee death row inmate remains alive after receiving two doses of execution drugs. The state’s corrections commissioner previously served in Arizona.

Northeast Valley News asked people in two separate locations, one in downtown Phoenix near the City of Phoenix main offices and one in downtown Scottsdale near the Civic Center to read the ballot measures and respond to the likelihood they would either favor or reject the bills after reading.

“These are anti-Constitution measures, as far as I can tell,” said Valley retiree and Army veteran Wayne Newcomb. Newcomb told Northeast Valley News he changed his political party affiliation to Independent shortly after Trump began his “second time at bat”—he used to be a Republican. “Each day I see another Constitutional violation from this administration and those who buy in to the stuff, whatever happened to “we the people?” Newcomb asked.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday said Arizona’s law that forces disclosure of anonymous campaign spending is constitutional, rejecting the claims of a conservative group that argued that the law violated the First Amendment rights of people who want to secretly influence voters.

The ruling by a three-judge panel on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the second loss for Americans for Prosperity, the most prominent among the network of conservative organizations founded by the wealthy Koch brothers, in its bid to have the overwhelmingly popular law scrapped. A trial court judge previously rejected Americans for Prosperity’s arguments.

More than 70% of Arizona voters approved the Voters’ Right to Know Act, which was on the ballot as Proposition 211, in 2022. The law requires that political committees and other politically active nonprofit corporations disclose the sources of their funding in a bid to combat the anonymous campaign spending that has transformed American elections over the past 15 years.

Disclosure is required if an individual or organization gives more than $5,000 to a committee or organization that spends more than $50,000 on a statewide campaign or ballot measure or $25,000 on a legislative race.

Americans for Prosperity and other conservative critics of the law have argued that such disclosures have a “chilling effect” on the free speech of Arizonans and are a violation of the First Amendment.

But the majority on the appeals panel disagreed, saying that the government has a strong interest in informing voters and the “modest” burden of disclosure on the campaign donors doesn’t infringe on their constitutional rights.

“Plaintiffs’ actual complaint seems to be that those who want to make large-money donations to campaign media spending cannot do so anonymously behind intermediaries,” Judge Gabriel Sanchez wrote on behalf of himself and Judge Johnnie Rawlinson.

Sanchez was appointed to the appellate bench by President Joe Biden, while Rawlinson was appointed by President Bill Clinton.

The ruling rejects all of Americans for Prosperity’s arguments that the law’s mandates aren’t “narrowly tailored” to avoid violating the constitutional rights of people engaging in political speech, and Sanchez noted that several requirements are less onerous than similar provisions in federal election regulations that have withstood judicial scrutiny.

The majority also relied heavily on an Arizona Supreme Court ruling from earlier this year in which the state high court upheld the law and rejected similar arguments brought by local conservative organizations.

That view was not shared by Judge Patrick Bumatay, an appointee of President Donald Trump, who wrote in a dissenting opinion that the law should be struck down because the First Amendment was understood in the 18th century to protect both anonymous political speech and the anonymous funding of that speech.

The practical result, Bumatay wrote, is that the law reaches up the funding chain of political organizations to donors many steps removed and requires “looking infinitely back to the original source” in order to trace money through a chain of transfers.

“While donor disclosure laws are not new … Arizona’s law constitutes a radical departure from what we’ve seen before,” he wrote.

Bumatay wrote that the law fails even under the legal test the U.S. Supreme Court has used for 50 years to largely endorse disclosure of political spending. But much of his dissent rests on history. He argued that the nation’s founders viewed the forced unmasking of political speakers as a violation of “the rights inherent to citizens of a free republic.”

“Political speech was sacrosanct: A public commentator could not be dragged into the light against his will,” he wrote.

The ruling leaves the law in effect for the Nov. 3 general election. Americans for Prosperity can ask the full 9th Circuit to rehear the case or petition the U.S. Supreme Court, which in 2021 sided with Americans for Prosperity Foundation in a challenge to California’s donor-disclosure rules for charities.

Former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, who spearheaded the effort to enact dark money disclosure laws in Arizona, said the 9th Circuit’s ruling is “another validation” of what voters wanted.

“I hope this is something that gives voters a little more confidence,” he told the Arizona Mirror. “If someone can secretly influence the vote that I cast, how can I be a knowledgeable voter? I can’t.”

At the end of the day, Goddard said, voters don’t want billionaires spending money anonymously to fund the deluge of political ads they see each election cycle.

“That kind of thing hurts voters and tarnishes the entire electoral system,” he said.

A request for comment to Americans for Prosperity was not immediately returned.

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona’s court system was hit by a cyberattack this week that officials say may have compromised personal information belonging to a large number of Arizonans.

Court IT staff discovered the attack and moved quickly to shut it down, Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer announced Friday night.

Officials believe criminal hackers, or automated “bots,” copied personally identifiable information belonging to many Arizonans. The Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of the Courts is now working to notify everyone it believes was affected by the breach.

Officials did not share extensive details about the attack or what information was accessed, saying they want to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation or putting affected individuals at further risk.

“As soon as I learned about this outrageous criminal attack on Arizona’s Courts, I immediately called our team together to formulate a response,” Timmer said in a written release. “I personally spoke with the top-ranking FBI leader in the state, and I pledged our full commitment to supporting their investigation and minimizing the likelihood that the information will be used to further jeopardize Arizonans.”

Timmer said the court system is in contact with those affected and will release more information as it becomes available.

Anyone with questions is asked to check AZCourts.gov for the latest updates.