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Undercover Yuma deputy turned cop killer: the 4th of July murders that stunned Arizona

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Undercover Yuma deputy turned cop killer: the 4th of July murders that stunned Arizona


PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — It’s a true crime story involving stolen evidence, an undercover cop gone bad, and two law enforcement officers gunned down while trying to get help. It happened in 1995 —28 years ago in Yuma, and the holiday is still difficult for the families who lived this and lost their own.

Yuma Police Lt. Dan Elkins was used to responding to 911 calls, not making them.

“Hurry up! Hurry, he’s shooting guns…he’s firing rounds…hurry up!” you can hear in his 911 call. That audio is haunting and heartbreaking because just moments later, Elkins was shot and killed along with Department of Public Safety Sgt. Mike Crowe. The convicted killer? A Yuma County Sheriff’s deputy: Jack Hudson.

Hudson had been on the South Border Alliance narcotics task force with Elkins and Crowe and had been working undercover. Days before the shooting, authorities discovered items were missing from the evidence room, so they installed a video camera. On the 4th of July, Elkins, Crowe and another law enforcement official went to the building to account for all the evidence room keys and, once inside, found safes broken into and destroyed and multiple offices ransacked. That’s when police said the three ran into a fellow undercover deputy, who began firing a 9 mm weapon. The officers were not armed.

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Video from inside the task force office shows bloody shoe prints left behind moments after Hudson went on his deadly rampage. Hudson was arrested in the parking lot by a deputy who served as a role model to others in the department, according to the sheriff at the time.

“I wish I could get in his head; wish I knew what he was thinking. And I wish I knew why. I don’t,” said former Yuma County Sheriff Ralph Ogdon at the time.

At Mike Crowe’s service, his two daughters were just 12 and 14 years old as they walked behind his casket. His wife, Stephany, told Arizona’s Family on the phone Tuesday that even 28 years later, this holiday doesn’t get easier for her and their two daughters, who are now in their 40s.

She described him as an amazing husband and father, and the impact he left on Arizona was felt by all he worked with, even the top leader in our state. “Sergeant Michael Crowe, you gave us strength and courage. For us you gave your life. We love you for it, we honor you, we will meet again,” said the then Governor Fife Symington at Crowe’s service.

Crowe’s wife said it’s still hard for her and the girls to talk about but that he would have loved to see the wonderful women his daughters grew up to be. That he would have loved to play with his grandkids, which makes the 4th of July very bittersweet now.

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Jack Hudson was convicted in 1997 of murder and sentenced to life in prison. For years he denied remembering anything he did — that he was high on drugs at the time. He died in prison in 2017.

Late Tuesday night, Arizona’s Family spoke on the phone to former DPS trooper Steve Trethewy, who ended up interviewing Jack Hudson eight times while he was in prison. And it was on Hudson’s deathbed, the final interview when he finally revealed more than he ever had before.

“He looked up and said ‘well, well, well look who’s here.’ I said, ‘Can you talk?’ and he said he would,” Trethewy said. “I started piecing through that 7 deadly minutes where he killed both officers. I said, ‘Jack, do you remember — do you remember the shooting? Do you remember the sound of the guns going off?’ and he thought a little bit and he said, ‘yeah, I remember. I remember the guns going off.’ So, there were a couple pieces like that in that 7 minutes where he said he remembered something which he had always denied previously,” Trethewy said. “He lived for almost three more weeks and then he passed away.”

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Arizona

How former Arizona Wildcats fared in Week 11 of NFL season

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How former Arizona Wildcats fared in Week 11 of NFL season


Another week of the NFL season is in the books. Here’s how former Arizona Wildcats fared around the league in Week 11.

Nick Folk, K, Tennessee Titans

Folk made a pair of field goals, including a long of 43 yards, in Tennessee’s 23-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Folk has 396 career field goals, one shy of 15th all-time.

Christian Roland-Wallace, ST, Kansas City Chiefs

Roland-Wallace played 13 snaps on special teams in Kansas City’s 30-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Roland-Wallace earned a 66.7 grade, second-best on the Chiefs special teams unit.

Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, ST, San Francisco 49ers

Flannigan-Fowles played 14 special teams snaps for San Francisco in its 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Flannigan-Fowles’ 63.6 grade on PFF was fourth-best on the 49ers special teams unit.

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Jacob Cowing, WR/ST, San Francisco 49ers

Cowing played one offensive snap and two special teams snaps in San Francisco’s loss.

Jordan Morgan, OT, Green Bay Packers

Morgan was placed on the injured reserve on Saturday, meaning he’ll miss at least the next four weeks. Morgan reportedly reaggravated a shoulder injury during practice.



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Democratic Arizona governor says she'll work with Trump on border security if it won't harm families

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Democratic Arizona governor says she'll work with Trump on border security if it won't harm families


PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said Monday she is willing to work with President-elect Donald Trump’s new administration on border security issues like stopping fentanyl trafficking, but not in areas that she said could harm Arizona families such as mass deportation.

Hobbs traveled to the Arizona-Mexico border on Monday to trumpet her state’s National Guard work helping crack down on smuggling of the deadly synthetic opioid into the U.S. through Nogales, Arizona. More than half of all border seizures of the drug are made in Nogales.

“Border security was a core issue of the Trump campaign,” Hobbs told reporters as vehicles moved behind her. “I look forward to having conversations with the incoming president about Arizona’s needs, including border security and the work we’ve done here to build these partnerships that are actually producing results and how we can continue those partnerships under his administration.”

But, she added, there are Arizona families who “are worried about threats from the Trump administration as well.”

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“I will not tolerate actions that harm Arizonans, that harm our communities and quite honestly, divert resources from providing real security at our border,” Hobbs said.

Trump has promised to conduct the largest deportation operation in American history, something that would upend the lives of the 11 million people living in the United States without authorization, many of whom have family members who are U.S. citizens.

“I will stand up to protect Arizonans from harm by the federal government, from anyone,” Hobbs said, but “I’m not going to comment on hypotheticals. We don’t know what a mass deportation plan will look like, what resources it will involve.”

Hobbs also touted Operation Secure, her initiative deploying the National Guard to assist local and federal enforcement in Arizona’s border communities like Nogales. The governor said 170 Arizona National Guard members are assigned to counterdrug efforts statewide, including 40 at the border in Nogales.

The governor’s border visit comes less than two weeks after Democrats suffered blistering losses at the polls in Arizona, with Trump defeating Vice President Kamala Harris by a margin of about 185,000 votes statewide and beefing up the Republican majority in the Arizona Legislature.

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Hobbs said Monday that border security is not a “Republican or Democratic issue” and she will work with “anyone” to keep the border safe.

Troy Miller, acting head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, also spoke at the news conference and called National Guard members “a critical force multiplier” for his agency’s operations at the Nogales port.

“The scope of this problem is too large and the stakes are too high for us to do this work alone,” Miller said. “That’s why I’m so proud of the partnerships we have built, especially the ones right here in Arizona.”





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$100,000 reward in Arizona wolf killing mystery

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0,000 reward in Arizona wolf killing mystery


A protected Mexican gray wolf named Hope was found dead on November 7 near Flagstaff, Arizona, prompting a significant reward for information leading to a conviction over her killing.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Arizona Game and Fish Department announced a combined reward of $103,500 for details about her death.

Her killing has sparked outrage among wildlife advocates who see her as a critical messenger for Mexican gray wolf recovery efforts.

Mexican gray wolves are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Killing a Mexican wolf is a serious federal offense that can result in substantial fines and potential imprisonment.

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So far, details of the animal’s death have not been publicly released and an investigation is underway.

Newsweek contacted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via its website for comment.

A Mexican gray wolf staring at a camera. Mexican gray wolves once ranged widely from central Mexico throughout the southwestern U.S. including Utah, Colorado and Texas.

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Having dispersed from the Tu Dil Hil pack in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area, Hope had carved out a territory north of Interstate 40, an area outside the official wolf recovery zone. She had been seen traveling with another Mexican wolf in the area, according to a Fish and Wildlife Service statement.

Conservation experts viewed her presence as evidence that suitable wolf habitat extends beyond current designated regions.

“Hope was a sentient individual being and a messenger of the changes needed in the Mexican gray wolf recovery program,” Claire Musser, executive director at Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, said in a statement.

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Her territory challenged existing conservation boundaries and demonstrated the potential for wolf populations to naturally expand.

Wildlife advocates have questioned how the death could have occurred, as the animal would have been instantly recognizable as a wolf.

Cyndi Tuell from Western Watersheds Project said in a statement that Hope’s tracking collar was clearly visible, making it impossible for a shooter to mistake her for a coyote or claim an accidental killing.

“If someone killed Hope, the full weight of the federal and state law should be brought to bear against the person or persons who took her away from our human community which found inspiration and joy in her existence, and from the nonhuman community that depends upon top predators to bring balance to the landscape,” Tuell said.

Hope’s presence had garnered significant public support. In 2021, Flagstaff passed a resolution supporting Mexican gray wolf recovery, recognizing both the ecological importance and potential economic benefits of wolf-related tourism.

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Scientists have recommended expanding wolf recovery plans to include additional subpopulations, particularly in the Grand Canyon ecoregion and southern Rockies. Hope’s journey represented an example of this potential.

Sandy Bahr from the Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon Chapter demanded accountability. “If the investigation into Hope’s death reveals that a person killed her, we expect the Arizona Game and Fish Department to advocate for justice for Hope,” she said in a statement.

Taylor McKinnon of the Center for Biological Diversity added: “Hope embodied the dreams of many in Flagstaff, including the school children who named her. Her death is not just a loss for wildlife, but for our entire community.”

The fate of the other wolf, named as Mystery, which was traveling with Hope remains unknown, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

Anyone with information about Hope’s death is urged to contact U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents in Pinetop, Arizona at (346) 254-0515.

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Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about gray wolves? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.



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