ARIZONA NEWS

Weekend wrap-up: Here are the biggest Arizona stories from July 22-23

Jul 23, 2023, 6:09 PM

Downtown Phoenix skyline...

View of the downtown Phoenix, Arizona city skyline as seen from South Mountain Park, August 28, 2018. (Photo by Robyn Beck/Getty Images)

(Photo by Robyn Beck/Getty Images)

PHOENIX — The record-breaking heatwave persists in the Valley but some saw a little relief Saturday with a few raindrops.

A University of Arizona student was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking and firearm crimes.

Here are some of the biggest stories that headlined the Arizona news cycle over the weekend.


Phoenix sets daily heat record for fourth time this week

Arizona’s capital broke a daily heat record on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Temperatures reached 118 degrees Fahrenheit at around 3:16 p.m., according to NWS weather reports. The previous daily high was 116 degrees back in 2006.

Phoenix set daily heat records this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Saturday marked the fourth daily heat record this week.


Rain drops in parts of Phoenix Saturday, more storm activity expected Sunday

The Phoenix metro area was forecasted to see increased monsoon storm activity Saturday between 4 and 8 p.m.

Saturday night, winds swept through the Valley after 11 p.m. and into early Sunday accompanied by isolated rainfall.

Maricopa County Flood Control District rain gauges recorded .04 inches of rain at two locations: Jackson and 7th Street, and 27th Avenue and Durango in Phoenix.


University of Arizona student sentenced to 7 years for drug trafficking, firearm crimes

A search through the average college students’ apartment may unveil unsavory secrets, but one University of Arizona student had more to hide than his classmates.

When agents looked through 22-year-old Jonathan Edward Mayer’s apartment in 2021, they found drugs and a privately manufactured firearm, also known as a “ghost gun,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona

The agents discovered the ghost gun had an “automatic conversion switch that rendered it a machine gun,” the office said in a Friday statement.

On top of that, Mayer had also been hiding LSD, amphetamines, psychedelic mushrooms and cocaine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.


APS daily energy peak sets another record Thursday

The APS daily energy peak shattered previous power consumption records on Thursday, according to a Friday news release.

APS said Thursday’s energy use surpassed the all-time peak electricity use.

This summer has been so demanding on energy suppliers that the aforementioned peak was set just five days earlier on July 15, according to the APS news release.


4 people shot at Westgate parking lot in Glendale

Four people were shot at Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale early Saturday.

According to the Glendale Police Department, officers were in the area around 2:15 a.m. in response to another call.

While on scene, police heard gunshots coming from a parking lot near AMC Theatres and the Renaissance Hotel.

Police responded and found four victims with gunshot wounds. All were taken to a local hospital and are expected to survive.

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Weekend wrap-up: Here are the biggest Arizona stories from July 22-23