Arizona

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

Published

1 year ago

July 5, 2023

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.

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.

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

Is Big Lots closing all stores? What to know about all the stores closing in Arizona

Published

43 minutes ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

Is Big Lots closing all stores? What to know about all the stores closing in Arizona

After months of store closures and filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Big Lots is preparing to close all of its locations, according to a news release issued by the company on Thursday.

More than 400 stores have already been closed by the retailer in 2024 with the remaining ones set to hold “going out of business” sales. The company said it would continue to serve customers in-store and online and did not specify how long the sales would last.

“The Company is preparing to commence going out of business sales at all remaining Big Lots store locations in the coming days to protect the value of its estate,” Big Lots said in the news release.

CEO Bruce Thorn said the closures could be reversed if a company sale is completed.

The announcement comes as the company has already announced the closures of 24 locations in Arizona since July. Here’s the remaining Big Lots that are now closing.

Which Big Lots in Arizona are closing?

Bullhead City: 2350 Miracle Mile
Casa Grande: 1346 E. Florence Blvd.
Glendale: 6660 W. Cactus Road
Kingman: 3320 N. Stockton Hills Road
Lake Havasu City: 1799 Kiowa Ave.
Mesa: 1110 W. Southern Ave.
Show Low: 4421 S. White Mountain Road
Sierra Vista: 135 S. Highway 92
Surprise: 14537 W. Grand Ave.
Yuma: 1625 S. Fourth Ave.

Reach the reporter at reia.li@gannett.com. Follow @Reialirui on X, formerly Twitter.

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Arizona

Safety Dalton Johnson withdraws from NCAA transfer portal, will return to Arizona in 2025

Published

8 hours ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

Safety Dalton Johnson withdraws from NCAA transfer portal, will return to Arizona in 2025

The NCAA transfer portal giveth and it taketh, but sometimes it just gives back what it took. For Arizona, that happened not once but twice on Thursday.

Safety Dalton Johnson is returning to the Wildcats for his redshirt senior season, withdrawing from the portal after going in last week. He joins fellow safety Genesis Smith, who did the same earlier Thursday.

Johnson, the only member of Arizona’s 2021 recruiting class–which signed in between Kevin Sumlin being fired and Jedd Fisch getting hired–led the Wildcats with 94 tackles this season. He started 11 games, missing one because of injury, and has 24 starts with 36 career appearances.

Arizona has had more than 30 players from the 2024 team enter the portal including the majority of the defensive starters, but getting back Johnson and Smith helps solidify a back line that has added three players from the portal and will have Duane Akina back as position coach following a season as defensive coordinator.

The return of Johnson and Smith continues the recent good news for Arizona, which on Wednesday night saw quarterback Noah Fifita announce he was coming back for 2025. Fifita has started the last 21 games.

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Arizona

Arizona softball’s 2025 nonconference schedule has a Pac-12 flavor

Published

16 hours ago

December 19, 2024

Press Room

Arizona softball’s 2025 nonconference schedule has a Pac-12 flavor

Looking for a tough nonconference schedule? Have some Pac-12 nostalgia? Arizona softball has it covered.

The Wildcats released their full schedule on Thursday morning, adding the nonconference slate to the previously released Big 12 schedule. It has something to please everyone.

Arizona will keep rivalries with former Pac-12 opponents Washington, Stanford, and UCLA. They will bring Alabama and Texas to Tucson and play home and away against Cal State Fullerton. In total, the Wildcats will play 12 teams that made the NCAA tournament last season and appear in 32 games at Hillenbrand Stadium.

Things kick off with the Candrea Classic at Hillenbrand Stadium from Feb. 6-9, 2025. First on the slate is a doubleheader against Michigan State on Thursday, Feb. 6. The Spartans finished 21-30 overall last year and went 7-16 in the Big Ten but had a five-game winning streak to end the season.

That game heads straight into the land of the Pac-12 with the first of two games against the Washington Huskies on Friday, Feb. 7. It’s the first game of a Friday night doubleheader with the second game against Western Michigan. The Wildcats will play UW a second time on Sunday, Feb. 9.

The Huskies went 32-10 overall last season. They were 13-10 in their final Pac-12 season. They beat Arizona 2-1 in their series in Tucson. Their season ended in the Columbia Regional with a loss to Missouri. They went 1-2 in the postseason.

Saturday, Feb. 8 will feature Alabama. The Crimson Tide were 39-20 last year. They went 10-14 in the SEC. They advanced to the Women’s College World Series, going 1-2 and bowing out to Florida. They defeated Arizona twice during the regular season in Tuscaloosa.

Arizona hosts the Bear Down Fiesta the weekend of Feb. 13-16. The Wildcats will play South Alabama on Thursday, Feb. 13 and again on Friday, Feb. 14. They face Fullerton on Feb. 14 and Sunday, Feb. 16. Ohio is on the slate on Saturday, Feb. 15.

Arizona played South Alabama in Tuscaloosa last year. The game ended in a 1-1 tie after 11 innings due to the “drop dead time.” The Jaguars ended their year 34-20-1 overall and 16-8 in the Sun Belt Conference. They went 2-2 at the Gainesville Regional, losing twice to host team Florida.

Fullerton was 39-19 overall in 2024. The Titans ended Big West play 22-5. They went 3-2 at the Stanford Regional, beating the host Cardinal and ranked Mississippi State once each.

The Ohio Bobcats were 31-24 last season. They finished 18-8 in the MAC. Their season ended with a loss to Ball State in the MAC Tournament.

The Wildcats stay home for the third week in a row to host the Hillenbrand Invitational from Feb. 20-23. The featured teams this weekend are Stanford and Texas, with the Cardinal playing UA twice.

Things start on Thursday, Feb. 20 with the Cardinal. The two teams will face off again on Sunday, Feb. 23.

Stanford will be a different team this season without NiJaree Canaday, whom Arizona will face in Big 12 play against Texas Tech. However, the Cardinal have advanced to the WCWS the last two seasons. They went 57-17 in 2024, finishing 17-7 in their last Pac-12 season.

The Cardinal went 2-1 against Arizona in Tucson last season. They went 2-2 in Oklahoma City, losing 1-0 to national runner-up Texas in their final game.

In between the two games against Stanford, the Wildcats will play UC Davis twice, once on Feb. 20 and once on Feb. 21. The game against the Aggies on Friday will be followed by a game against Colorado State. Saturday, Feb. 22 will feature Texas.

The Aggies were 21-29 overall and 12-15 in the Big West. The Rams went 26-21 overall and 9-12 in the Mountain West.

Texas was ranked No. 1 for a good chunk of 2024. The Longhorns went 55-10 overall and 23-4 in their final Big 12 season. They went 3-2 in Oklahoma City, losing the championship series to Oklahoma in two straight games.

The Wildcats play their first road game in a one-off at Loyola Marymount on Wednesday, Feb. 26. LMU was 28-25 last season. The Lions finished 9-7 in the WCC.

The trip to Southern California continues on the return games at Cal State Fullerton from Feb. 28-Mar. 2. The Wildcats face the Wildcats of Weber State first on Friday, Feb. 28. They play the host Titans immediately following in a doubleheader.

Weber State finished 22-28 overall and 8-7 in the Big Sky in 2024.

Saturday, Mar. 1 features another doubleheader. First up is Notre Dame. Longtime rival UCLA follows.

The Bruins were 43-12 last year. Their last year in the Pac-12 ended with a 17-4 record. They won the series against Arizona 2-1 in Los Angeles. They then defeated Arizona by the score of 6-5 in the Pac-12 Tournament. They went 1-2 in Oklahoma City, losing back-to-back against Oklahoma and Stanford.

Things wrap up on Mar. 2 against San Diego State. The Aztecs finished 31-20 overall and 15-7 in the MWC last season. They went 0-2 in the Los Angeles Regional, losing to Virginia Tech and GCU.

Arizona returns home to start Big 12 play against UCF on Friday, Mar. 7, but they will play another one-off nonconference game against Utah State on Monday, Mar. 10. The Aggies were 22-28 last year and 5-17 in the MWC.

A Big 12 home series against Utah will be followed by a road game at GCU on Wednesday, Mar. 19. The Lopes had a 50-13 finish overall last season. They were 23-3 in the WAC. They lost 3-2 at Arizona on Apr. 30, 2024.

GCU went 2-2 at the Los Angeles Regional, a run that included defeating 17th-ranked Virginia Tech to advance to the regional final.

The next five weekends find the Wildcats facing Big 12 foes Arizona State, BYU, Oklahoma State, Kansas, and Texas Tech before another nonconference doubleheader.

The New Mexico State Aggies come to Tucson for a doubleheader on Tuesday, Apr. 22. The Aggies were 30-25 last year. They went 13-11 in Conference USA. Arizona defeated them twice in Las Cruces.

The Wildcats return to Southern California for two more games against San Diego State to complete their Big 12 bye week. The games will be held on Friday, Apr. 25 and Saturday, Apr. 26.

Arizona finishes the Big 12 regular season at Houston from May 2-4 before heading to Oklahoma City for the Big 12 Tournament May 7-10.

Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics

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