Valley group reaches out to gang members to stop violence

 

 

PHOENIX – To some gang members, kids in south Phoenix are potential recruits. But to the people behind Project TRUCE, they are the future, and a catalyst for peace in a neighborhood riddled with gun violence.

“It’s probably one of the things that keeps me up at night, when you see a 4-year-old throw up a gang sign,” said Advisory Board Member Deborah Kidd Chapman, who teaches children from her neighborhood to follow a productive path.

“I learned a lot on those streets, and I learned a lot about what it means to make good choices in your life,” said Chapman. “When I was given a do-over, I said I would try to direct children to make positive choices in their lives.”

 

Valley group reaches out to gang members to stop violence

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Phoenix officer facing murder charge has mixed work history

by Lynh Bui – Oct. 19, 2010 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

Phoenix police Officer Richard Chrisman, who is facing a second-degree murder charge, had been suspended for misconduct in 2006 and was the subject of several internal investigations related to on-duty traffic incidents, personnel records released Monday show.

Chrisman’s personnel file also show he has received several commendations and positive performance reviews during his nearly 10 years on the force.

Chrisman is accused of fatally shooting 29-year-old Danny Frank Rodriguez while answering a call in south Phoenix on Oct. 5.

He’s scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 21 and is free on $150,000 bail. Chrisman is also accused of one count of aggravated assault and one count of cruelty to animals.

Records show Chrisman was suspended without pay for 10 hours on Jan. 27, 2006. The incident of officer misconduct involved Chrisman slipping his partner drug paraphernalia to plant on a homeless woman as a prank in 2005.

Chrisman admitted the joke was his idea and that his behavior was “way beyond unprofessional,” according to a suspension report in his personnel file.

via Phoenix officer facing murder charge has mixed work history.

Phoenix Officer’s Wife Has Criminal Past

Sarah Buduson

Reporter, KPHO.com

POSTED: 8:55 pm MST October 18, 2010

UPDATED: 10:44 pm MST October 18, 2010

PHOENIX — The Phoenix police officer whose account of a domestic violence call led to murder charges against officer Richard Chrisman is married to a convicted felon.

Sergio Virgillo’s wife, Maria, was convicted of illegal control of an enterprise in 2008 and sentenced to three years probation.

Court documents show Maria Virgillo was one of four people indicted in a drug smuggling operation that trafficked in meth and cocaine in July 2008.

She was sentenced to three years probation in November 2008.

During that time, the indictment says Sergio Virgillo was a detective for Phoenix’s drug enforcement bureau and that his wife provied information obtained from him about undercover practices to her brother, who is named as an “intricate member” of the drug trafficking organization.

via Phoenix Officer’s Wife Has Criminal Past – Phoenix News Story – KPHO Phoenix.

Police: Pimp Arrested, Accused Of Forcing Teen To Turn Tricks

Police: Pimp Arrested, Accused Of Forcing Teen To Turn Tricks

Cara Liu – Reporter, KPHO.com

POSTED: 10:17 pm MST October 8, 2010

UPDATED: 10:50 pm MST October 8, 2010

PHOENIX — A Phoenix man has been arrested, accused of forcing a teenage girl into prostitution.

Al Green, 20, was arrested after the SWAT team busted into his home Friday evening, said police.

Police said the investigation began after the victim, an 18-year-old girl, escaped Friday morning and her grandmother called police in south Phoenix. According to detectives, the girl was lured from a bus stop near 24th Street and Broadway Road about a month ago.

via Police: Pimp Arrested, Accused Of Forcing Teen To Turn Tricks – Valley News Story – KPHO Phoenix.