by Matthew Holloway | Jun 2, 2024 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
In the tumultuous race for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, the incumbent Republican Rachel Mitchell is facing attacks from both sides as fellow Republican Gina Godbehere, a former bureau chief for the MCAO and former prosecutor in Goodyear was first to launch a blistering campaign. However, by comparison the findings of investigative reporters against Godbehere are far more serious than those she’s levied against Mitchell.
The victor in the upcoming July primary will face off against Democrat Tamika Wooten, a judge pro tem, former chief prosecutor in Glendale, and a municipal judge in multiple jurisdictions. But before Wooten has even taken the stage, the GOP primary campaign has already been marked by the weapon of choice for any Attorney’s race: ‘sweetheart’ plea deals. Godbehere fired the first shot, blasting Mitchell for a plea deal with former director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, Charles Ryan in a radio interview with KFNN’s J.D. Hayworth as reported by the Phoenix New Times on April 9th.
Godbehere prefaced the issue telling Hayworth, “The problem with the county attorney is she’s wedged between a Democratic governor and a Democratic attorney general, and she has liberal staff that are running that office.” She later landed the rhetorical blow, “When you allow sweetheart deals, like in the Ryan case or pointing the gun at police, and you’re not holding offenders accountable, this is the problem we’re having.”
As noted by New Times, Wooten also latched onto the plea deal telling the outlet, “As a prosecutor, justice is supposed to be blind, and (Mitchell’s) not making her decisions that way. I think there was definitely some favoritism based on Ryan’s former position.”
It didn’t take long though for the investigative reporters at the Arizona Daily Independent to uncover a troubling unsolicited plea deal issued by Godbehere during her tenure with the MCAO for 52-year-old Laquanza Young, also known as Quan Chaney before changing his name in 2019. As reported by the Independent, Young (then known as Chaney) was arrested in 2009 for attempting to rob his former employer Cricket Wireless, threatening a pregnant former co-worker at gunpoint while doing so. He had been previously terminated by Cricket on suspicion of theft and for weeks ahead of the robbery reportedly sent threatening emails to his ex-employer.
Young was arrested and was looking at 3 counts of aggravated assault, burglary, and armed robbery charges, class three and two felonies respectively, and had a lengthy criminal record. Depending on mitigating facts he should’ve been looking at up to 30 years in prison. Confusingly, Young even expressed in pretrial statement that he had no interest in a plea deal. That was at least until Godbehere took the case.
According to the Independent, “Godbehere promptly gave Young a five-week continuance for his trial date, and then offered him a plea deal. Instead of felony charges for aggravated assault, burglary, and armed robbery, Godbehere offered Young lesser charges of disorderly conduct with a handgun (a class six felony) and burglary in the first degree with a handgun (a class three felony). Minimum sentencing under the revised charges amounted to three years, or a maximum of eight years. Godbehere personally signed off on the plea deal.”
Young (then Chaney) was sentenced to just 10 months in prison, was out in five, and he only paid $400 in restitution to the pregnant mother he threatened.
Already, this would be egregious. But on March 21, 2024, Young now under his new moniker, drew a firearm on Scottsdale Police officers who had pulled him over during a routine traffic stop. The suspect was driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen at the time of the traffic stop according to AZCentral. Near Scottsdale Road and Cactus Young exited the car rapidly, drew his gun and opened fire on two officers who returned fire and struck him fatally. He was declared dead at the scene.
A man who was only on the street due to an unsolicited plea deal from Godbehere, was killed just weeks ago while he attempted to murder two Police officers in the line of duty.
Without expressing an opinion regarding the plea deal that Mitchell offered Ryan, a charge based on an incident in which no one was harmed being reduced in light of a dedicated civil servant’s years of service doesn’t strain imagination. But an unsolicited, astoundingly light plea bargain, putting a known criminal back on the street who would later die attempting to gun down two police officers is quite another matter.
To quote Godbehere’s own words, “When you allow sweetheart deals (…) and you’re not holding offenders accountable, this is the problem we’re having.”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Staff Reporter | May 4, 2024 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Candidate Gina Godbehere criticized her opponent, incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, for not heeding the extradition request of a murder suspect from Alvin Bragg, Democratic district attorney in New York.
Mitchell refused to extradite murder suspect Raad Almansoori, 26, expressing concern over Bragg’s ability to properly prosecute Almansoori. Almansoori was arrested in Arizona after stabbing two women; he was also the suspect in the New York murder of another woman, 38-year-old Denisse Oleas-Arancibia. Mitchell said she could guarantee Almansoori would be imprisoned for an appropriate amount of time, whereas she felt that he would not be under Bragg.
“We have two very violent crimes here, we have two women that were stabbed and he is facing a lengthy mandatory prison sentence here. And even though there’s a homicide in New York, we can guarantee that he’s going to stay in custody here,” said Mitchell. “Let me be clear, my heart goes out to the next of kin in New York, and I’m not casting aspersions on the NYPD either, they did a hard job in putting this case together, but we have a case here and we have him in custody.”
Godbehere told KFNN last month that Mitchell lacked the authority to refuse Bragg’s request.
“I have a real problem of what she did by calling out Bragg on that issue — because unless my opponent was running for governor, she has no say or no role in any of that,” said Godbehere.
Bragg’s tenure has been marked with a drop in conviction rates, due to a decline in the number of cases his office has chosen to prosecute. When the Manhattan DA first came into office in 2021, he swore to not prosecute low-level crimes such as traffic infractions, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, subway-fare evasion, or prostitution.
The DA also pledged to not imprison mentally ill individuals who committed crimes.
In one of the numerous times Bragg’s office made headlines in 2022, his team dropped multiple larceny charges against an alleged gang member with a lengthy rap sheet — 46 prior arrests — instead opting to require the member to attend a handful of social worker counseling sessions.
Godbehere is campaigning as a Republican. As reported by The Arizona Daily Independent, Godbehere’s campaign staffer has also been critical of mainstream Republican candidates and stances, and reportedly indicated that he voted for President Joe Biden.
Godbehere previously challenged Mitchell in the 2022 election. Ahead of that year’s primary election, Godbehere issued a retracted comment erroneously advising voters on the Active Early Voting List that ballots dropped off on the deadline day would be rendered provisional.
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by Terri Jo Neff | Jul 11, 2022 | News
By Terri Jo Neff |
A candidate for Maricopa County Attorney has retracted a comment she made last week which provided incorrect information that could lead to voter confusion during the current 2022 primary election.
Gina Godbehere is running on the Aug. 2 Republican primary election ballot against interim County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. And with Maricopa County’s election process under intense scrutiny since late 2020, voters cannot be blamed for presuming candidates have taken the time to get a good grasp on election procedures.
But Godbehere, an attorney and former prosecutor, raised eyebrows July 7 with a campaign newsletter which included a “note of caution” to voters on the county’s Active Early Voting List (AEVL).
The AEVL allows voters to receive their primary ballot by mail. Once completed, the ballot can be returned by postage-prepaid mail, placement in an official drop box, hand delivery to the county recorder’s office, or dropping it off at one Maricopa County’s 200+ voting centers.
The completed ballots must be received by the county recorder by 7 p.m. on Aug. 2, regardless of which return option is chosen.
Godbehere’s newsletter, however, incorrectly described what happens if a voter waits until Aug. 2 “to walk your early ballot into a voting center” and drop it off in a ballot box. In that situation, Godbehere claimed AEVL voters will have their ballot deemed “provisional” which she said meant the ballot would be “counted last” 7 to 10 days after the election.
Various election officials told AZ Free News there is nothing in Arizona law or the state’s Elections Procedures Manual referring to any dropped off ballot as provisional. In fact, the term provisional only applies to ballots cast in-person under specific circumstances.
On Monday, Godbehere’s campaign issued a statement admitting the mistake.
“These ballots are not provisional, but regular ballots,” the statement reads. “We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.”
Maricopa County voters with questions about the election process can call 602-506-1511 or email voterinfo@risc.maricopa.gov
Godbehere and Mitchell are vying to be the Republican who takes on Democrat Julie Gunnigle in a Nov. 8 special election to serve out the remainder of former County Attorney Allister Adel’s term through the end of 2024.
Adel resigned under pressure in March and died the next month.
