Arizona
Arizona man pleads guilty after illegally living in forest for years among ‘1,000lbs of trash’
A man in Arizona has pleaded guilty to violating federal fire restrictions and unlawfully residing in a national forest, after authorities said he spent years living at a makeshift campsite surrounded by what officials described as “approximately 1,000 pounds of trash”.
Mark Aaron Gatz was arrested on 25 June at his illegal campsite in Arizona’s Tonto national forest, according to court records. A United States Forest Service (USFS) officer wrote in documents submitted to court that Gatz had been operating an “illegal campsite” with a “hot wood burning campfire” despite fire restrictions and that he had told investigators that he had been living in the forest for about eight years.
The officer wrote that a records check found that Gatz had previously received multiple citations and was the subject of six outstanding federal arrest warrants for earlier violations, including for building fires during fire restrictions, constructing on national forest service lands, unsanitary conditions and occupying national forest as a residence.
Gatz “said that he knew about current fire restrictions but had to have fire to eat”, authorities said. The documents show that USFS officers made contact with Gatz multiple times over the last year or so, and issued him warnings as well as a violation notice for having campfires during fire restrictions.
Notes from officers’ previous encounters with Gatz earlier this year, submitted into the court docket, state that authorities observed “trash such as clothing, pans, tools, and plastic cups scattered throughout the campsite along with a structure that was four feet in height build using wood panels”.
During an encounter with Gatz in May, officers reported observing “approximately 1,000 pounds of trash” at the site, which they said included tires, plastic bags, trash bags, aluminum cans and other items. They also wrote that they found that the campfire site had been left unattended by Gatz the previous day while still hot.
In a separate report filed by law enforcement from an encounter in February, one officer wrote that “upon arrival at the camp, I was flabbergasted by the amount of debris in the area”.
Investigators said that during that encounter, the debris consisted of three ladders, six to eight totes “overfilled with debris”, five 55-gallon drums, eight tires, multiple bicycle frames, 5 gallons of motor oil, plywood and other “miscellaneous lumber”, and they wrote that trash was scattered over approximately half an acre of Forest Service land and creating what officers described as public safety concerns.
In a separate report from July 2025, officers said they observed what they described as a “large messy campsite” while patrolling the area due to complaints “from the district office abut one large messy camp”.
“There was roughly half an acre of resources ruined due to so much trash and goods on the ground for an extended period of time,” the officer wrote.
This week, after Gatz pleaded guilty, he was sentenced to time served and three years of probation, according to court records.
A representative for Gatz did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Odds of winning the Powerball and Mega Millions are NOT in your favor
Odds of hitting the jackpot in Mega Millions or Powerball are around 1-in-292 million. Here are things that you’re more likely to land than big bucks.
The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Tuesday, July 7, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Mega Millions numbers
02-31-35-36-63, Mega Ball: 12
Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 Evening numbers
Evening: 4-7-2
Winning Fantasy 5 numbers
03-05-10-14-37
Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Triple Twist numbers
03-06-18-23-27-32
Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results
What time is the Powerball drawing?
Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.
How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?
In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.
How to play the Powerball
To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.
You can choose your lucky numbers on a play slip or let the lottery terminal randomly pick your numbers.
To win, match one of the 9 Ways to Win:
- 5 white balls + 1 red Powerball = Grand prize.
- 5 white balls = $1 million.
- 4 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $50,000.
- 4 white balls = $100.
- 3 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $100.
- 3 white balls = $7.
- 2 white balls + 1 red Powerball = $7.
- 1 white ball + 1 red Powerball = $4.
- 1 red Powerball = $4.
There’s a chance to have your winnings increased two, three, four, five and 10 times through the Power Play for an additional $1 per play. Players can multiply non-jackpot wins up to 10 times when the jackpot is $150 million or less.
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Arizona Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $100 and may redeem winnings up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Arizona Lottery offices. By mail, send a winner claim form, winning lottery ticket and a copy of a government-issued ID to P.O. Box 2913, Phoenix, AZ 85062.
To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a winner claim form and deliver the form, along with the ticket and government-issued ID to any of these locations:
Phoenix Arizona Lottery Office: 4740 E. University Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4400. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Tucson Arizona Lottery Office: 2955 E. Grant Road, Tucson, AZ 85716, 520-628-5107. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Phoenix Sky Harbor Lottery Office: Terminal 4 Baggage Claim, 3400 E. Sky Harbor Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85034, 480-921-4424. Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.
Kingman Arizona Lottery Office: Inside Walmart, 3396 Stockton Hill Road, Kingman, AZ 86409, 928-753-8808. Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, closed holidays. This office can cash prizes up to $49,999.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at https://www.arizonalottery.com/.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by an Arizona Republic editor. You can send feedback using this form.
PAGE, ARIZ., – A suspect has been arrested after two people were found shot to death inside a home near the Arizona-Utah border.
What we know:
On July 5 at 11:30 p.m., the Page Police and Fire Communications Center responded to a report that two people had been shot near Elm and El Camino.
Once at the home, officers found a man and a woman with gunshot wounds. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
“The suspect was unknown and not on scene when officers arrived,” police said.
Dig deeper:
Police secured the home and obtained a search warrant. Investigators then began processing the crime scene.
“Evidence collected provided investigators with a person of interest who may have been present when the shootings occurred,” police said. “Investigators located the person of interest and interviewed him but did not initially charge him with any crimes related to the double homicide investigation.”
The next day, the person of interest was arrested and booked into jail. He’s accused of two counts of first-degree murder.
What we don’t know:
No identities were released. Police didn’t release any details on what led up to the shooting.
Local perspective:
Police “do not believe there is any remaining threat to the community, as the alleged suspect and the weapon allegedly used have been seized by law enforcement.”
What you can do:
If anyone has information related to the investigation, they advise contacting Detective Terry TerEick at ttereick@pageaz.gov.
Map of the cross streets where the shooting occurred:
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from the Page Police Department’s Facebook page.
Arizona Diamondbacks (45-45, second in the NL West) vs. San Diego Padres (44-46, third in the NL West)
San Diego; Tuesday, 9:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Zac Gallen (0-0); Padres: TBD
LINE: Padres -131, Diamondbacks +108; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The San Diego Padres are looking to end their three-game home slide with a victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
San Diego has a 44-46 record overall and a 23-22 record at home. The Padres have a 26-13 record in games when they record at least eight hits.
Arizona is 45-45 overall and 18-25 on the road. The Diamondbacks have gone 16-4 in games when they hit two or more home runs.
The teams match up Tuesday for the fourth time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Manny Machado has 16 doubles and 18 home runs for the Padres. Fernando Tatis Jr. is 11 for 43 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games.
Ketel Marte has 18 doubles, three triples and 17 home runs for the Diamondbacks. Geraldo Perdomo is 13 for 39 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Padres: 1-9, .255 batting average, 8.02 ERA, outscored by 51 runs
Diamondbacks: 4-6, .222 batting average, 3.84 ERA, outscored by one run
INJURIES: Padres: Jason Adam: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Randy Vasquez: 15-Day IL (ankle), Freddy Fermin: 10-Day IL (head), Matt Waldron: 15-Day IL (arm), David Morgan: 15-Day IL (knee), Jeremiah Estrada: 15-Day IL (knee), Lucas Giolito: 15-Day IL (elbow), Nick Pivetta: 60-Day IL (elbow), Joe Musgrove: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ramon Laureano: 60-Day IL (hip), Bryan Hoeing: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Diamondbacks: James McCann: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Blake Walston: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jordan Lawlar: 10-Day IL (hamstring), A.J. Puk: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ryne Nelson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mike Soroka: 15-Day IL (lower body), Corbin Burnes: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Mena: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Andrew Saalfrank: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Martinez: 60-Day IL (elbow)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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