Good Thursday morning, Arizona!
We're staying on top of the latest happenings from across the Valley, state, and our nation for Thursday, Feb. 12; here’s what you need to know as you start your day:
From Meteorologist Jorge Torres - Cooler air and chances for rain on the way!
It’ll be another partly cloudy and warm day across the Valley before our next storm system moves in. Expect afternoon highs near 80 degrees with morning lows in the 50s. Cooler air arrives late this week, along with a slight chance of rain on Friday.
Man detained by police in Nancy Guthrie search speaks to ABC15
A man who says he was detained by Pima County Sheriff's deputies for "kidnapping" Nancy Guthrie spoke first to ABC15 immediately following his release.
On Tuesday night, authorities confirmed that they had detained a man during a traffic stop in a location south of Tucson, the source said, and law enforcement is preparing to search a location associated with the individual.
In the interview, the man, who identified himself as "Carlos," says he was held at the scene of the initial traffic stop for hours.
TIMELINE: What we know about the investigation into Guthrie's disappearance
"They didn't even tell me what's going on until the detectives got here... They told me I was being detained for kidnapping, and I asked them, "Kidnapping of who?"" Carlos said.
Watch the interview in the player below.
Paradise Valley school district fires superintendent after months on leave
The Paradise Valley Unified School District terminated Superintendent Dr. C. Cummings overnight following months of administrative leave, citing contract violations and failure to disclose information on his job application.
The school board accused Cummings of unprofessional behavior, insubordination, and failing to properly disclose previous issues when he applied for the position. He was placed on leave just months after starting the job in July.
The allegations against Cummings stem from his behavior both at Paradise Valley and his previous district in South Bend, Indiana. According to news outlets from South Bend, Cummings was placed on leave there for possibly inflating student grades.
The legal officer advising Paradise Valley said Cummings didn't properly disclose this information when applying for the superintendent position.
"The question to him was, have you ever been bought out of a contract or placed on administrative leave? If so, please explain, limit 200 words. Well, Mr. Or Dr Cummings didn't even need that 200-word limit. He answered no," the PVUSD hearing officer said.
Cummings had a base salary of $230,000. His contract was set to end on June 30, 2027.
Three days left: Arizona faces deeper Colorado River cuts as federal deadline looms
Arizona and six other southwestern states have just three days to reach an agreement on sharing Colorado River water, or risk the federal government stepping in with its own plan.
The current rules for distributing Colorado River water expire at the end of this year, leaving millions of people across the Southwest in uncertainty about their water future. Despite ongoing negotiations, the seven basin states have yet to agree on how to divide the increasingly scarce resource.
The Department of the Interior released some potential plans in January, many of which lay out deep cuts to Arizona.
Family lawyer: Notice of claim to be filed against city, Phoenix PD after wrong person shot and killed
Days after Phoenix's police chief admitted one of his officers killed the wrong man in a shooting in west Phoenix last month, the family lawyer tells ABC15 he intends to file a notice of claim against the city as soon as Thursday.
"There's just no way to justify that conduct," said David Chami, the managing partner at Consumer Justice Law Firm in Scottsdale.
Chami tells ABC15 he hopes to avoid litigation with the City of Phoenix for the sake of the family, but if a settlement does not work out, he is prepared to seek damages for them.
"Obviously, I don't think the officer made a conscious decision to shoot the homeowner, but watching the footage and the way he approached the home, it was with reckless abandonment," said Chami.
Earlier this week, ABC15 broke down body cam footage of the officer-involved shooting, which started as a shots-fired call in a neighborhood near 75th Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road just after 6 p.m. on January 26.
