蜜柚直播

Animal welfare organizations from 蜜柚直播 and beyond are collectively holding their breath to see if a county zoning commission southeast of 蜜柚直播 will block or approve a proposed commercial pet-breeding facility for puppies and 鈥渆xotic cats.鈥�

Hundreds of opponents 鈥� including the local sheriff 鈥� are asking the nine-person 蜜柚直播 County Planning and Zoning Commission to reject a proposal to house dozens of breeding females on a patch of farmland in Elfrida, a hamlet of 400 people about 100 miles from 蜜柚直播.

Critics say the venture has some characteristics of a puppy and kitten mill operation that could strain already-overburdened rescue shelters in the 蜜柚直播 area and elsewhere around the state.

Chance Mason, one of five business partners involved in the proposal, said he and his wife live on the property and will not 鈥渞un a puppy mill but a high-quality animal husbandry business鈥� that will add to state and local tax revenue.

All five of the business partners used to live in Missouri, which, according to animal welfare organizations, is one of the worst states for puppy mills.

Puppy mills mass-produce pets in inhumane conditions that damage the health of mother dogs, who often spend their lives in cages being bred every heat cycle to produce as many babies as quickly as possible, the Humane Society of the United States said.

Mason does not disagree that puppy mills are common in Missouri. However, he said he worked at a puppy mill as a teen before he realized what it was and has no intention of emulating 鈥渂ad operators.鈥�

鈥淭his will not be a 鈥榩rofit-before-animal-welfare鈥� operation,鈥� he said in a phone interview from his 25 acres on West Dillman Road, a private dirt road that intersects U.S. Highway 191 about 30 miles northeast of Bisbee, the 蜜柚直播 County seat.

Mason, 45, said he plans to start small with six breeding females and eventually hopes to produce boxers, corgis and English bulldog puppies and three kinds of exotic felines: Savannah cats, werewolf cats and fire-point Siamese.

While he owns five dogs 鈥� two boxers and three corgis 鈥� Mason has no experience breeding pedigreed pets. He said he has years of experience birthing farm animals.

Mason said his Facebook page has been overrun with 鈥渉undreds鈥� of negative comments since his plan became public.

鈥淚鈥檝e had people say I should be murdered, or neutered or put in prison,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e lost a lot of sleep over this.

鈥淚鈥檓 being tried an convicted in the court of public opinion without any evidence.鈥�

Sheriff opposed

A statement submitted 鈥渙n behalf of鈥� the 蜜柚直播 County sheriff and written by an animal control officer said the proposed breeding facility 鈥渨ould undoubtedly have a negative effect on the county.鈥�

The sheriff鈥檚 opposition wasn鈥檛 mentioned in an eight-page county staff . To discover that fact, decision-makers would have to read through to page 417 of a that鈥檚 separate from the main staff report.

The staff report is recommending approval of a scaled-down version of the project.

Animal control officer Amber Linendoll, who expressed opposition on the sheriff鈥檚 behalf, said 蜜柚直播 County 鈥渁lready has many backyard breeders who become overwhelmed and request animal control to pick up the dogs.

鈥淥ur shelters are full almost year round and we are faced with having to euthanize them due to not being able to get them out of the shelter into loving homes or rescues.鈥�

Linendoll鈥檚 concerns are shared by animal welfare groups in 蜜柚直播, Pima and Maricopa counties and by 11 out-of-state organizations including the national Humane Society.

Nancy Young Wright, president of the animal welfare group Rescue Me 蜜柚直播, said animal welfare groups and shelters from 蜜柚直播 and Phoenix already incur substantial costs taking in overflow animals from 蜜柚直播 County.

If Mason鈥檚 enterprise were to fail and shut down, 鈥渙rganizations that step in to rescue the animals will have to spend thousands of dollars to provide veterinary care, housing and placement,鈥� she wrote in opposition to the plan.

Wright also questions what will happen to animals that need emergency veterinary care, since there are no emergency veterinarians in 蜜柚直播 County.

Proposal in flux

The l calls for up to 40 breeding females to be kept on site in a pair of 3,000-square-foot climate controlled buildings with outdoor overhangs to provide shade.

The county planning department is recommending a limit of 20 breeding females, and said the proposal meets the county goals for increased economic activity.

Mason said he鈥檚 willing to further reduce the number to 15 breeding females.

He also said he鈥檒l allow unannounced inspections of the site and will allow customers to come to the property to pick up their puppies rather than doing sales off-site as originally proposed.

鈥淭he animals will have all the love and care and attention they need,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to run a damn puppy mill. I don鈥檛 believe in cruelty to animals.鈥�

These photos of cactus blooms will make you fall in love with 蜜柚直播

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Cactus blooms

Blooming saguaro

Cactus blooms at the 蜜柚直播-Sonora Desert Museum

Prickly pear in bloom

Cactus blooms

Prickly pear

Brilliant bloom

Prickly pear cactus

Prickly pear cactus

Saguaro and ocotillo

Hedgehog cactus

Cholla cactus

Cholla cactus

Prickly pear

Bees and blooms

Yellow prickly pear flowers

07 VAM outside birding trail

Prickly pear cactus

Cactus blooming

Bonanza of blooms

Sabino Canyon saguaro

Multiple blooms

Cactus Flower

Trichocereus cactus in bloom

Cardon in bloom

Barrel Cactus in Bloom

Foothills flowering cactus

Editor's note: This story has been updated.

A judge has been placed on leave and authorities are investigating a criminal case that could test the limits on when it鈥檚 legal to fire a gun in 蜜柚直播.

Justice of the Peace Adam Watters, 59, was placed on paid administrative leave last month and is under investigation for firing what he called a 鈥渨arning shot鈥� 鈥� one that landed inches from an unarmed man on a recent Sunday afternoon outside Watters鈥� home in the Foothills.

The man, Fei Qin, 38, of 蜜柚直播, later was arrested on suspicion of felony stalking for allegedly driving by Watters鈥� house repeatedly and leaving litter is his yard, public records show.

Qin, a 蜜柚直播 landlord, recently had an eviction case handled by Watters in Pima County Justice Court. Some of the trash left in Watters鈥� yard contained mail addressed to the tenants Qin had hoped to evict, detectives said.

Watters, who usually handled domestic violence cases, said he鈥檇 only recently started doing some evictions work as well.

Around the same time the littering started, the tires on Watters鈥� pickup truck were slashed in two separate incidents, but so far no one has been charged for those offenses, court records show.

Deputies who searched Qin鈥檚 vehicle after the shooting found a butcher knife in a pocket behind the passenger seat, but the sheriff鈥檚 report did not establish that the knife was the same one used to slash the judge鈥檚 tires.

The report said Qin was not armed when Watters fired a round that struck the ground 鈥渄irectly next to鈥� Qin.

Qin told detectives Watters forced him out of his vehicle at gunpoint, threatened to 鈥渂low his head off,鈥� and ordered him to lie on the ground.

Watters, in his interview with detectives, acknowledged 鈥渢hat he did make mention of shooting (Qin) or blowing off his head鈥� and that he鈥檇 tried to order Qin to the ground, but denied forcing Qin from his vehicle.

A cellphone the judge used to record some of the moments prior to the shooting went missing soon afterward, the sheriff鈥檚 report said.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos would not comment on the case.

鈥淚t is premature for us to make a statement鈥� because the investigation is ongoing, Nanos said in an email to the 蜜柚直播.

The Star recently obtained the sheriff鈥檚 report through a public-records request.

When is it legal to shoot?

蜜柚直播 has a number of laws that spell out when it is and isn鈥檛 legal to use a deadly weapon against someone else. Penalties for violators can be substantial.

For example:

鈥� A felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon can apply when someone 鈥渋ntentionally, knowingly, and recklessly鈥� uses a weapon to cause another person 鈥渇ear of immediate physical harm.鈥� Conviction carries a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence.

鈥� A felony charge of disorderly conduct with a weapon can apply when someone uses a firearm to 鈥渄isturb the peace and quiet of a neighborhood, family or person.鈥� Sentences can range from probation to two years in prison.

Exceptions can apply in certain circumstances.

The law says use of deadly force is legally justified 鈥渢o the degree a reasonable person would believe that deadly physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the other鈥檚 use or attempted use of unlawful deadly force.鈥�

Whether Watters actions were justified has yet to be determined,

A felony conviction could end the judge鈥檚 career as well as his ability to legally possess a gun, but Watters鈥� attorney, Mike Storie, said he doubts criminal charges will be filed against his client.

Storie said prosecutors responsible for making the decision will weigh 鈥渢he totality of the circumstances鈥� 鈥� and in his view, the circumstances are in the judge鈥檚 favor.

鈥淭he analysis will have to take into account what was in Judge Watters鈥� mind at the time he fired his weapon,鈥� he said.

鈥淲hat would you do?鈥�

On Feb. 14, the day of the incident, Watters鈥� street was already on a list of places deputies were patrolling more often because of vandalism reports from the judge鈥檚 house over a nine-day period.

By that time, Watters had had his tires slashed twice. Trash such as junk mail, burrito wrappers, salsa containers and takeout coffee cups had been left in his yard several times.

Watters told detectives two suspicious vehicles had recently been seen on his street: one a white BMW, the other a gray Subaru SUV.

A neighbor who saw the Subaru nearby during one of the littering incidents took a photo of the license plate and a few days later, the same Subaru drove by again, the sheriff鈥檚 report said.

Watters could have called 911 and gone inside his house to wait for law enforcement, Storie acknowledged in an interview.

Instead, the judge and one of his daughters chose that day to sit outside with guns on lawn chairs hidden by landscaping, cellphones poised in hopes of getting a photo of the SUV driver.

Watters was not intending to shoot the driver, Storie said. He just wanted to be prepared in case of trouble.

By then the judge was frightened and frustrated because the vandalism had persisted despite multiple calls to law enforcement, Storie said.

鈥淧ut yourself in this guy鈥檚 shoes. What would you do? He鈥檚 afraid for his wife. He鈥檚 been harassed for days. He鈥檚 called police four times and the problem isn鈥檛 getting any better,鈥� he said.

Watters told detectives he and Qin were a few feet away from each other just before the shot was fired.

He said Qin had left his vehicle and was standing nearby staring. The distance between them was about 3 feet according to Watters and about 5 feet according to Qin, the sheriff鈥檚 report said.

Watters said he pulled the trigger after Qin took a single step forward. He said he feared Qin might be armed even though he had not produced a weapon that day.

Cellphone missing

Watters was filming on his cellphone camera when the Subaru stopped near him at the end of his driveway

That raised the possibility the phone contained proof of what happened just before the shooting, but detectives did not take the phone into custody to be examined by a forensic expert.

Investigators faced a roadblock at first because Watters鈥� cellphone had disappeared by the time deputies arrived 鈥渨ithin seconds鈥� of the shooting, the sheriff鈥檚 report said.

The judge said his sister had stopped by briefly and must have taken his phone by mistake because their phones looked identical.

Someone 鈥� it isn鈥檛 clear who in the public records released to date 鈥� decided to let the judge鈥檚 sister keep the phone overnight instead of retrieving it from her that day.

The next day, Watters brought the phone with him to his lawyer鈥檚 office for an interview with detectives. But the only footage they found on it ended before the encounter.

The judge told investigators 鈥渉e was unsure how or why鈥� the camera had turned off and assured them the phone鈥檚 contents had not been altered since the incident.

Instead of having an expert check whether anything was removed surreptitiously, the detectives looked at a folder for recently deleted files, saw nothing suspicious, then handed the phone back to Watters, records show.

蜜柚直播 attorney Jeff Grynkewich, who represents Qin on the stalking charge, filed court paperwork last week asking the prosecution to make Watters鈥� phone available for forensic testing by the defense.

鈥淎 forensic audit of this phone is necessary as the only steps taken by officers solely consisted of making sure no files were within the 鈥榙eleted files,鈥欌�� Grynkewich wrote in his March 3 request filed at Pima County Superior Court.

One of the detectives later acknowledged at a preliminary hearing that 鈥渇iles could have been further removed from the deleted files folder,鈥� during the time the phone was missing, Grynkewich said in his written request to the court.

He said Qin will plead not guilty to the stalking charge.

鈥淢y client has a right to be presumed innocent and he is asserting his innocence,鈥� the defense attorney said in an interview.

Prosecutor resigns

While the incident took place in Pima County, it is not being handled by the Pima County Attorney鈥檚 Office, which typically prosecutes such cases.

The Watters case isn鈥檛 typical due to the involvement of the judge鈥檚 daughter, a prosecutor with the Pima County Attorney鈥檚 Office since late 2018.

Caitlin Watters, who brought a loaded shotgun to the scene but did not use it, was interviewed as a witness in the case. Two days later she submitted a letter of resignation from her prosecutor鈥檚 job, but a libel lawsuit she filed against the Star in January 2022 says she already had been offered a new job when the incident occurred.

Because of the Caitlin Watters connection, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover referred the case to the 蜜柚直播 Attorney General鈥檚 Office to avoid a conflict of interest.

The attorney general has since forwarded the matter to prosecutors in two neighboring counties, Conover said in an email.

The 蜜柚直播 County Attorney has taken over Qin鈥檚 stalking case. The Pinal County Attorney鈥檚 Office is conducting a 鈥渞eview of Judge Watters鈥� use of a firearm鈥� that will determine if the judge should face charges, she said.

Watters, a Republican, was first appointed to his post in early 2008 to replace a retiring justice, but lost the seat when he had to run for election later that year.

He was elected to his first four-year term in 2014 and reelected in 2018 to a second term that expires at the end of 2022.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos illegally withheld public information four times during his first five months on the job, several experts in 蜜柚直播鈥檚 public-records law say.

Nanos, who has publicly pledged his commitment to openness and transparency, is refusing to comment on the experts鈥� unanimous opinions that the sheriff ignored decades of 蜜柚直播 Supreme Court rulings to repeatedly block the release of public records to the 蜜柚直播.

The denied records include a video in which a judge threatened to blow a man鈥檚 head off moments before firing a gun and a case in which Nanos initially withheld that a 19-year-old man was unarmed when a deputy shot and killed him early this year.

鈥淭he sheriff is breaking the law,鈥� said David Cullier, one of four experts who reviewed Nanos鈥� public-records decisions at the Star鈥檚 request. Between them, the experts have more than a century of experience litigating, lecturing or testifying in government hearings on public access to information.

Nanos did not reply to repeated requests for comment for this story. The Star sent him detailed email requests on May 18 and June 2 and copied them to four other members of his public records and public information staff, none of whom responded.

Cullier said Nanos鈥� records decisions show 鈥渁 clear pattern of obstruction.

鈥淭hese are not gray areas where the law is unclear,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hese cases are black and white for anyone who knows how to read.鈥�

Cullier, an associate journalism professor at the University of 蜜柚直播, has researched public-access laws at the the state and federal levels for two decades. He鈥檚 a member of a federal advisory committee on access to information and is president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.

Media law attorney David Bodney of the Phoenix law firm Ballard Spahr said 鈥渋t is difficult to fathom any legitimate basis鈥� for Nanos鈥� public-records decisions.

Whoever authored the decisions 鈥渟hows little recognition of the law and the sheriff鈥檚 duty to comply with it,鈥� said Bodney, who has decades of experience teaching media law at 蜜柚直播 State University and is slated to teach a course at the University of 蜜柚直播 this fall.

鈥楿nacceptable,鈥� says Huckelberry

It鈥檚 unclear if Nanos sought or followed legal advice before deciding to withhold information. He won鈥檛 say, and neither will the Pima County Attorney鈥檚 Office, which is responsible for advising the sheriff on public-records matters but would not comment for this story, citing attorney-client privilege.

The Star shared the experts鈥� findings with Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry, who oversees the budgets of all county-funded departments including the Sheriff鈥檚 Department and the county attorney. He said he intends to look into the situation, which he called 鈥渦nacceptable.鈥�

Huckelberry said transparency is a high priority for his elected bosses, the county Board of Supervisors. 鈥淢y guess is the board will not be pleased when they hear about this,鈥� he said.

Mishandling of public-records requests can create unnecessary costs for taxpayers. If a public record is wrongly withheld and a requestor is forced to sue to obtain it, the offending government agency typically must pay the requestor鈥檚 legal bills.

Nanos, a Democrat, won the sheriff鈥檚 job by about 3,500 votes in the 2020 election, defeating former Republican Sheriff Mark Napier, who held the job from 2017 to 2020 without any notable public-records problems.

Nanos took over on Jan. 1, and problems arose almost immediately.

Key shooting detail withheld

On Jan. 20, one of Nanos鈥� deputies shot and killed a 19-year-old man while responding to reports of a suspect trying to break into vehicles northwest of 蜜柚直播. Experts said Nanos misused the public-records law by concealing a key shooting detail for weeks.

The sheriff should have revealed immediately that the man was unarmed, they said. Instead Nanos told the Star to file a public-records request for that detail, wrongly claiming he did not have to reveal if the man was armed because the incident was still under investigation.

It took two weeks for Nanos to publicly disclose that the man shot dead did not have a gun in his hand, but rather, a key fob mistaken for a gun by the deputy who fired on him. The deputy, whose name the sheriff withheld for 12 days, later was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by Pima County Attorney Laura Conover.

Attorney Gregg Leslie, executive director of the First Amendment Clinic at 蜜柚直播 State University鈥檚 law school, said state law does not allow the sheriff to withhold basic facts about a fatal law enforcement encounter simply because an investigation is ongoing.

鈥淭hings like details about a shooting should be released to the public immediately and should not be tied to public-records requests,鈥� said Leslie, formerly the longtime legal director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

鈥淢any police agencies seem to believe that any time there is an ongoing investigation, they don鈥檛 have to release anything about the case. But that has never been the law in 蜜柚直播.鈥�

In mid-May, Nanos released an outline of changes he said he is making within the department that he said are designed to improve transparency and public trust. One of those steps, he said, is the creation of a regional critical incident review team made up of outside law enforcement agencies that will 鈥渉andle鈥� cases where someone dies while in the custody of the department, including fatal shootings by deputies.

Video wrongly concealed

Justice of the Peace Adam Watters has been under investigation since February in a shooting case that raised questions about the competence of sheriff鈥檚 investigators.

Detectives allowed Watters鈥� sister to keep, overnight, a cellphone he used to record part of the incident. The next day they asked Watters for a copy of the video but did not seize the phone for a forensic examination to see if anything was deleted surreptitiously.

In March, a 蜜柚直播 TV station aired the judge鈥檚 cellphone without specifying how it was obtained. It shows Watters repeatedly screaming 鈥淚鈥檒l blow your (expletive) head off,鈥� to an unarmed man he suspected of stalking him, moments before Watters fired a shot that landed inches from the man鈥檚 feet.

The question of whether Watters should be charged with a firearms offense has been under review for weeks by the Pinal County Attorney鈥檚 Office. The status of the effort is unclear because Pinal officials did not respond Friday to a request for an update.

Experts said Nanos violated the law twice when the Star filed a public-records request to examine the video.

First, he denied the request without providing a reason, which is contrary to law. Second, when pressed, Nanos gave a reason that has no basis in law, claiming the video was not a public record because it wasn鈥檛 created by sheriff鈥檚 officials 鈥� a claim Phoenix media attorney Dan Barr called 鈥渓udicrous.鈥�

A public record is any record 鈥渕ade or received鈥� by a public agency in connection with agency business, said Barr, of the law firm Perkins Coie, who has represented numerous news organizations, including the Star, in public-records lawsuits and is a legal adviser to the First Amendment Coalition of 蜜柚直播.

Cullier, of the UA, called the sheriff鈥檚 rationale for withholding the video 鈥渢he dumbest reason I ever heard.鈥�

E-records denied

It鈥檚 been 12 years since 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Supreme Court ruled that computerized public records must be provided for inspection in their original form upon request, a condition most government agencies routinely comply with by providing such records as email attachments.

But Nanos refuses to do so. Instead, he makes paper printouts of electronic records and requires requestors 鈥� in the midst of a pandemic 鈥� to come to sheriff鈥檚 headquarters to view them in person.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been years since I鈥檝e heard a government agency claim that even though a record exists in electronic form, they鈥檒l only release it in paper form,鈥� said Leslie of ASU. 鈥淭his battle was won by openness advocates years ago.鈥�

Cullier said the situation creates the appearance the sheriff is hiding something.

鈥淲hen I see agencies playing games like this, it鈥檚 usually a sign that something worse is going on that needs to be exposed,鈥� he said

鈥淭his kind of behavior leads to a loss of trust, and that鈥檚 not good for anybody,鈥� Cullier said.

鈥淚 really hope the sheriff will reconsider and do the right thing.鈥�

A charity that runs homes for troubled children from 蜜柚直播 and beyond is fighting a state effort to shut them down for having the worst health and safety record in 蜜柚直播 for such facilities, public records show.

Mary鈥檚 Mission, which operates two homes for 11- to 17-year-olds about 100 miles southeast of 蜜柚直播, has been cited 64 times since 2019 for deficiencies including chronic overcrowding, lack of nutritious food, faulty dosing of prescription medications and failure to demonstrate that children were receiving mental health care, records show.

Most of the home鈥檚 residents come from abusive or unstable backgrounds and have emotional scars that impair their ability to function. Their treatment is covered largely by taxpayers through the state Medicaid program, which contracts with private health insurers to provide care or pays facilities directly at a fee-for-service rate of $255 a day per child.

The Mary鈥檚 Mission homes in 蜜柚直播 County 鈥� one for boys in Sierra Vista, one for girls in Hereford, a smaller community nearby 鈥� together have racked up more than $18,000 in fines in three years, more than any of the other 150 or so licensed, live-in facilities for children with behavioral health problem. The 蜜柚直播 searched all their histories to establish which had the worst track record.

The fines imposed on Mary鈥檚 Mission by the 蜜柚直播 Department of Health Services, which licenses and inspects care facilities, did not lead to improvements, state records show. Rather, things got worse.

Problems started coming to a head in April when a Mary鈥檚 Mission employee blocked the entrance to the girls鈥� home for nearly half an hour to keep health inspectors out 鈥� defying a state requirement that inspectors must have access on demand. The inspections that happened later that day found dozens of violations at each of the homes, more than at any other time in the last three years, records show.

At this point, the two homes pose 鈥渁 direct risk to the life, health and safety鈥� of the children living there, state officials said, The department notified Mary鈥檚 Mission CEO William Lacey in June that it intends to revoke the licenses of both facilities. Mary鈥檚 Mission has the right to object, and has done so, officials said.

Lacey has asked the state Office of Administrative Hearings to review the case before the health department takes further action, said Steve Elliott, a health department spokesman. The hearing is pending, he said.

Lacey, 57, a retired Army officer, could not be reached for comment for this story despite five attempts made over a three-day period last week.

He did not reply to two voicemails left at Mary鈥檚 Mission鈥檚 headquarters, to two emails with detailed questions copied to Chris Russell, the Sierra Vista attorney advising him in the state licensing dispute, or to a phone message left with a receptionist at Russell鈥檚 law office.

In a to 蜜柚直播 County鈥檚 Board of Supervisors posted on the county鈥檚 YouTube channel, Lacey did not mention the state鈥檚 bid to shut down the two homes. Instead, he handed out promotional pamphlets, listed the charity鈥檚 achievements and told the board he is 鈥渢rying to expand services.

鈥淚 know this stuff like the back of my hand,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t broke my heart鈥�

Alexis Valenzuela of South 蜜柚直播 was 17 when she spent six months at Mary鈥檚 Mission four years ago and describes it as 鈥渢he worst experience of my life.鈥�

Valenzuela said her grandparents raised her because her mom was a substance abuser. She said she was diagnosed with depression and anxiety disorder and ended up at Mary鈥檚 Mission after her grandparents died.

These days, she said, her life has taken a turn for the better. Now 21, Valenzuela has a 7-month-old daughter, is engaged to the baby鈥檚 father and studies at Pima Community College hoping to make a career of helping troubled girls.

Valenzuela said she ended up running away from the girls鈥� home and later sought counseling on her own after turning 18.

Her memories of Mary鈥檚 Mission include taking cold showers and eating 鈥渄isgusting鈥� food. Group therapy was non-existent and individual therapy only happened about once a month, she said. When staffers forgot to dispense her bedtime dose of Xanax, they鈥檇 double up and give her two the next morning, which made her so high she couldn鈥檛 concentrate at school, she said.

Former employee Krystina Bosanko said hot water ran out every morning due to extreme overcrowding at the 888-square-foot girls鈥� home. Though licensed for eight, it often housed 12 to 16 girls, a feat achieved by cramming three or four bunk beds into each of its two tiny bedrooms. State inspectors have cited Mary鈥檚 Mission repeatedly for having too many residents at both of its facilities, with the boys home housing up to 24 at a time 鈥� 50% more than the 16 its state license allows.

Bosanko, 36, who worked at the girls home for 18 months in 2017 and 2018, said Mary鈥檚 Mission had a well-rehearsed routine to trick state inspectors into thinking the homes were not above capacity. Residents and staffers were put to work to break down and hide the extra cots and bunk beds, she said.

The children who shouldn鈥檛 be there then were loaded into vehicles and taken on long drives to keep them out of sight until inspectors left, she said. State inspection reports make repeated mentions of beds being moved out just as inspectors arrived on scene.

In 2019, Mary鈥檚 Mission reached a confidential out-of-court settlement in a $5 million lawsuit that blamed overcrowding and poor supervision for the sexual assault of 15-year-old resident of the boys鈥� home. The attacker, an 18-year-old male resident later sentenced to several years in prison, shouldn鈥檛 have been there since the home wasn鈥檛 licensed for adults, records show.

The victim and his mother, who filed the suit, were from New Mexico. Bosanko said that鈥檚 one of several states that sent children to Mary鈥檚 Mission including Idaho, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Though the two homes are licensed for a total 24 residents, Mary鈥檚 Mission鈥檚 nonprofit tax returns say the charity 鈥減rovides a safe environment for 42 at-risk boys and girls.鈥�

In another repeat violation, the homes were cited for ignoring a rule aimed at ensuring children had nutritious food. Menus were supposed to be approved by a licensed dietician, but that didn鈥檛 happen, Bosanko said.

Valenzuela recalls endless offerings of 鈥渄ollar-store food鈥� such as frozen burritos or mini pizzas or boiled macaroni and sauce, with no fresh fruits or vegetables. Bosanko said she and a co-worker felt sorry for the girls and sometimes bought meat and produce at their own expense to make them a decent dinner.

鈥淚t broke my heart,鈥� said Bosanko, who wept during a phone interview when a reporter mentioned Mary鈥檚 Mission listed $1.9 million in revenue on its most recent nonprofit tax return.

鈥淚 saw these kids go without basic needs,鈥� she exclaimed through tears. 鈥淲e had to fight tooth and nail to get them clothes, to get their hair cut, to get them shoes that fit.鈥�

$300,000 in tax liens

A Star review of property records, nonprofit tax returns and corporate registration records raised several red flags about Mary鈥檚 Mission鈥檚 bookkeeping and finances. An expert said the operator does not seem to be following best practices for nonprofit management.

About $300,000 in federal tax liens are registered against Lacey, the CEO, at the boys home address. The liens, documented at the 蜜柚直播 County Recorder鈥檚 Office, were filed because Mary鈥檚 Mission kept the payroll taxes withheld from employees instead remitting the funds to the government, public records show.

The unpaid taxes piled up between 2012 and 2019, the same timeframe in which Lacey took out a $320,000 mortgage on his personal residence and paid it off in less than seven years. The mortgage on his home in Sierra Vista was taken out June 20, 2012, and paid in full on Jan. 3, 2019, property records show.

Mary鈥檚 Mission鈥檚 tax returns also show Lacey failed to disclose that he and a Mary鈥檚 Mission board member registered a for-profit property acquisition company at the boys home address in 2002, a firm that remains active, state corporation records show. Last year, Lacey registered a second, similar for-profit firm at the address of a Mary鈥檚 Mission satellite location in Mesa, the records show.

In another irregularity, Mary鈥檚 Mission鈥檚 tax returns list amounts for 鈥渓and and buildings鈥� even though the charity does not own land or buildings. The boys鈥� and girls鈥� home properties are owned personally by Lacey, not by the nonprofit, property records show.

The Star shared its Mary鈥檚 Mission findings with a representative of Charity Navigator, one of several national organizations that rates nonprofits for their effectiveness and adherence best practices.

Spokesman Kevin Scalley said, while he鈥檚 not directly familiar with the organization, the findings suggest a need for further investigation.

鈥淚t does raise some eyebrows,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t does cause concern.鈥�

Mary鈥檚 Mission鈥檚 boys home has been accredited since 2010 by a 蜜柚直播-based accreditor, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities

The Star tried unsuccessfully to reach commission board chairman Brian Boon of 蜜柚直播 to explain how a facility with the worst track record in the state is able to remain accredited. A message left with a woman who answered Boon鈥檚 home phone was not returned.

An attempt to reach the chief accreditation officer, 蜜柚直播 attorney Darren Lehrfeld, also was unsuccessful because Lehrfeld was out of the office and not available for an interview.

The three-year inspection history of any state-licensed care facility is available online at

The family of an unarmed man shot to death by a Pima County sheriff鈥檚 deputy who mistook the man鈥檚 key fob for a gun is contemplating a $35 million lawsuit against the county, public records show.

A lawyer representing the family has served a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, against Sheriff Chris Nanos and other county officials that alleges authorities used excessive force in pursuing Bradley 鈥淎lex鈥� Lewis, who died two weeks after his 19th birthday in a Jan. 20 confrontation north of 蜜柚直播. A notice of claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.

鈥淎lex had yet to live any of the most exciting and enjoyable years of adulthood. His family has been robbed of all the years, milestones and memories enjoyed by most families,鈥� said the notice from attorney Eduardo Coronado.

The shooter, Deputy Gilbert Caudillo, a 20-year veteran of law enforcement, was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Pima County Attorney鈥檚 Office. But a consultant hired by the Lewis family claims the shooting could not have unfolded the way Caudillo described it to investigators.

According to the sheriff鈥檚 account of the event, Lewis was pulled over by deputies responding to a report of a man trying to break into vehicles early in the morning. Based on a description of the man鈥檚 vehicle, the sheriff said deputies identified Lewis as the suspect and determined he was wanted in another case on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The Sheriff Department maintains Lewis rammed a patrol vehicle 鈥� no deputies were injured in the encounter 鈥� then 鈥渃harged鈥� at a deputy. Caudillo, in a statement to detectives five days after the incident, said Lewis got out of his vehicle and was 鈥渇lying鈥� toward Caudillo when the deputy fired.

The Sheriff鈥檚 Department does not yet have body-worn cameras for its deputies, so video footage of the incident is not available.

The consultant hired by the Lewis family, who reviewed deputy statements and autopsy reports, said the fatal shot struck Lewis on the side of his body as he was squeezing himself between two vehicles less than a foot apart, which prevented him from moving quickly.

An autopsy report from the Pima County medical examiner said the bullet that killed Lewis pierced his right shoulder, then penetrated his right lung.

Deadly force 鈥渨as inappropriate and excessive under the circumstances,鈥� said the consultant, William M. Harmening, a former sheriff鈥檚 deputy and securities fraud official in Illinois who also taught forensic psychology as an adjunct faculty member at Washington University in St. Louis.

Harmening has testified in numerous lawsuits against law enforcement but in recent years some judges have blocked his testimony, ruling that he lacks real-world experience in police use-of-force situations.

In a 2019 federal court ruling in a wrongful-death lawsuit against a New Mexico sheriff鈥檚 deputy, a judge who barred his testimony noted Harmening has been involved only in one homicide investigation in the early 1990s, has never investigated an officer-involved shooting, has only taken a single course in investigative methods and is not trained in crime scene analysis.

Harmening could not be reached for comment. He did not reply by deadline to request for comment made through Coronado, the Lewis family attorney.

A sheriff鈥檚 official said the department does not comment on legal matters.