Crime Log: Sahuarita woman survives one-car crash; vandals target Haven

A 60-year-old Sahuarita woman was hospitalized Wednesday morning when her vehicle overturned on Mission Road, Pima County Sheriff’s reports said.

The driver was headed southbound on Mission, near the intersection of Duval Mine Road, when for unknown reasons her Chevy sedan veered off the road, flipped over and landed on its roof.

No other cars were involved, and there were no passengers in the Chevy, the report said.

The woman was taken to University Medical Center where she was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. The Green Valley Fire Department reports she had been wearing her seat belt.

Vandals have targeted Green Valley’s Haven Golf Course for a second time this summer, Pima County Sheriff’s officials reported last week.

Just before 5 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 30, maintenance workers called the Sheriff’s Department after discovering that several golf carts were missing from the cart storage area.

Nearby fencing had been cut-through and removed.

Nine carts were found scattered throughout the 110 N. Abrego Drive property. One was dumped in a lake and several others were flipped on their sides, reports said.

The suspects also drove the carts across the driving range, tearing up the turf and knocking over yardage markers.

Estimated damage to the course is more than $7,500, said Greg Chesney, Haven’s general manager. The golf course will be installing a security camera system within the next few weeks, he said.

In June, the wooden door to the Haven Pro Shop was set on fire, destroying the door and causing smoke damage to the interior. No suspects were arrested in the incident.

Sheriff’s officers arrested an Amado man found to be harboring roosters used for cockfighting, the Department reported last week.

More than 10 birds were found on his property, located in the 28000 block of South Royal Drive, with their talons cut off and the folds on their heads removed, the report said.

Detectives from the Animal Cruelty Unit searched the property and subsequently arrested Jesus Contreras, 43, for possession of drug paraphernalia.

Stimulant drugs are commonly given to roosters before a fight, the report said.

In 2006, Contreras was arrested for being present at a cockfight and in 1999, he pleaded guilty to assault charges.

Detectives are snvestigating last week’s incident.

A worker at Desert Diamond Casino has been indicted for embezzling a total of $664,442 from the casino over a 21-month period, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Arizona said in a news release.

Adam Thomas Vega, 30, stole the money by creating hundreds of fraudulent jackpot override tickets. Vega was a slot machine floor worker between October 2005 and July 2007 when he cashed in 585 false jackpot claims, the release said. He also did not pay $205,077 in income taxes on the $664,422 he took.

Vega is being charged with 15 counts of theft, each of which holds a maximum of 20 years in prison or a $1,000,000 fine. He is also being charged with five counts of tax evasion which carries a maximum of 5 years in prison or a $5,000 fine.

The Tohono O’odham Police Department and the Tonoho O’odham Nation’s regulatory office led the investigation after casino security officers initially discovered the criminal activity.

Vega is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 18, the news release said.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726