It's Thursday, and today we may see some more rain!
We're staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for ***DATE***; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:
From Meteorologist Jorge Torres - Slight chance of more monsoon rain in the Valley today
Remnants of Tropical Storm Juliette will bring extra clouds and a slight chance of rain to the Valley today, with better chances farther west.
Elected official accused of 'circumventing' Maryvale High safety system
An Arizona lawmaker and another woman are being accused of attempting to "circumvent" the Maryvale High School safety system, just days after a deadly stabbing at the campus.
According to a statement from Phoenix Union High School District (PXU), State Representative Lydia Hernandez (D-District 24) and another woman, who the district believes to be her adult daughter, “caused a disruption” by attempting to circumvent the school’s safety system by “knowingly bringing an unauthorized weapon onto campus" on Monday.
The district says neither of the women are current parents of Phoenix Union students.
Hernandez is the school board president for the Cartwright School District, which feeds into PXU.
According to the district, Hernandez and the other woman both went through the metal detectors, with a box cutter being found in the other woman's bag.
Hernandez told the staff that she was “testing the weapon detection systems” while she recorded the interaction on a cell phone, according to the district's statement. Both of the women were escorted out of the office and asked to leave the campus multiple times.
Rebekah Baptiste: Prosecutors file to try murder defendants together, new reports and documents released
It's been exactly one month since Rebekah Baptiste was found at an intersection in Holbrook, Arizona, unresponsive and severely injured.
Newly obtained court documents and police reports detail more interactions with the Baptiste family in the months leading up to the family's move from the Valley to rural Apache County.
Rebekah's dad, Richard Baptiste, and his girlfriend, Anicia Woods, are both charged with murder and child abuse. Court documents also show the Apache County Attorney's Office is hoping to join their cases as they move through the court system.
Joining the cases
Prosecutors have previously said in court that they believe Baptiste and Woods are "equally culpable." They are hoping to join the two cases based on the overlapping evidence and "similar conduct."
"The conduct led to the charges are all of the same or similar conduct and are connected together in their commission and are all part of a common scheme or plan," prosecutors wrote a new court filing.
Prosecutors also wrote that the couple is now facing charges regarding not only Rebekah, but also the abuse of her two siblings.
Watch the full report in the player below:
Maricopa County Community College partnership will help provide housing for single parents
As the cost of living, housing and rental costs increase, the Maricopa County Community College District is partnering with the organization Save the Family to help provide housing for single-parent students who are trying to get their degree.
Construction has been underway for the Phoenix Scholar House, an affordable housing complex that will serve over 50 families near SR 51 and Thomas Road.
As the cost of living, housing and rental costs increase, the Maricopa County Community College District is partnering with the organization Save the Family to help provide housing for single-parent students who are trying to get their degree. Construction has been underway for the Phoenix Scholar House, an affordable housing complex that will serve over 50 families near SR 51 and Thomas Road.
Arizona inmate filed fraudulent court papers to get released, state prisons director says
An Arizona inmate at the Lewis state prison complex is accused of using fraudulent court documents to get released in June, years before his sentence was up.
David Cramer submitted fraudulent court paperwork to both the court system and the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, Director Ryan Thornell told state lawmakers at the very end of a five-hour hearing Tuesday.
“Inmate Cramer, through the court system – to us, it's a very complex situation – but submitted fraudulent court paperwork through the court system, but also through the department as well,” he told state Sen. Kevin Payne.
Payne, a Republican representing Legislative District 27, had asked Thornell “about an inmate named Cramer” who allegedly was released because of falsified paperwork.
According to court documents obtained by ABC15, paperwork filed with the court in May contained “a superimposed picture of a court seal.” The documents asked court to vacate Cramer’s sentences.
“Black Canyon Enterprises PLLC created a document called ‘Memorandum Decision’ and claims that the Presiding Judge is ordering that sentences by vacated,” the ruling says.
