Weekend wrap-up: Here are the biggest Arizona stories from May 26-28
May 28, 2023, 6:00 PM
PHOENIX — Two people were arrested in connection with the shooting of a state trooper, high-tech traffic signs are heading to Arizona and wildlife officers killed three mountain lions.
Here are some of the biggest stories that headlined the Arizona news cycle over the busy Memorial Day Weekend.
2 people arrested in connection with shooting of trooper in Phoenix
Two people were arrested in connection with the shooting of a state trooper in Phoenix on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
Howard Lamar Johnson, 34, is considered the main suspect, the Phoenix Police Department said Friday morning. He was booked into jail on multiple counts, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Sonia Hernandez, 27, also was booked on multiple counts for allegedly helping Johnson after the shooting near the Loop 101 Agua Fria Freeway and 19th Avenue.
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, officers responded to a call around 12:40 p.m. Thursday to back up a trooper who’d been shot.
The trooper, who was shot several times, was taken to a local hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening, according to DPS.
High-tech traffic signs heading to Arizona as part of $1 million federal grant
High-tech traffic signs are heading to Arizona as part of a $1 million advanced technology and infrastructure grant to enhance safety, officials said Thursday.
Mohave County will get funding to install at least 50 stop and curve warning signs equipped with vehicle-to-infrastructure, or V2I, technology in an effort to enhance safety.
The signs will target high-speed rural highway segments, opportunity zones and intersection approaches, the county said in a press release.
The technology will send wireless communication to connected vehicles that provides drivers with real-time advisories.
Arizona wildlife officers kill 3 aggressive mountain lions
Arizona wildlife officers killed three mountain lions this week after the big cats were deemed a threat to public safety.
The mountain lions are believed to have killed several pet dogs in Prescott, the Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD) announced Thursday.
The predators, which rarely attack people, also exhibited aggression and a lack of fear toward humans. Relocating them wasn’t an option because it would have moved the threat to a different community, AZGFD said.
Officers killed an adult female mountain lion on Sunday after a northwest Prescott resident reported that it attacked his dog. The man also said another mountain lion showed aggression toward him.
Phoenix metro follows national trend as number of ‘super commuters’ declines
The number of people traveling more than 90 minutes to get to work in the Phoenix metro has dropped by 36% since 2019.
Those people, dubbed “super commuters,” number 29,811 today in the Valley, which is a drop from an all-time high of 46,529 in 2019, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data done by rental search website Apartment List. The data counts those who drive and those who take public transportation.
The study found that the decline in the Valley matched a trend seen in cities nationwide, and the reason for the change is the proliferation of remote and hybrid work arrangements that came with the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
Arrest made in fatal shooting outside Glendale apartment complex
An arrest has been made in the shooting death of a man who was sitting in his car at a Glendale apartment complex earlier this week, authorities said Friday.
Quincy Lofton, 37, was booked into jail Thursday on second-degree murder and weapons charges, the Glendale Police Department said.
Lofton, who has a felony record, was also wanted on a warrant for extreme DUI, police said.
He is accused of shooting 41-year-old Maurice Marshall near 67th and Glendale avenues around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.
