Between April 9 and April 16 Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Fountain Hills received five separate reports of attempted fraud. In each case the victim received an unsolicited email from a person claiming to have inserted malware/spyware on their computer, which allowed them to gather embarrassing personal information that they would post on the internet or send to the contacts in their phone, if the victim did not provide the suspect with a specified amount of Bitcoin digital currency.

In some cases, the suspect provided the victim’s passwords to some of their accounts, in order to further intimidate the victims. It was clear the emails were from the same person or group, as the amount requested in Bitcoin currency was consistent in all five cases and the alleged embarrassing material they claimed to have was similar in nature. The email addresses and names used in each case were different, however.

None of the recipients of these emails fell for the scam and reported it to law enforcement.

*On Friday, April 10, deputies responded along with the fire department to a report of a fire that started in an outdoor gas fireplace at a residence in the 15100 block of Camelview Drive. The caller reported using the fireplace earlier in the evening and then noticing in the early morning hours that it was on fire. He was unable to extinguish the fire with the hose and called the fire department. The fire did not damage the residence.

*On Friday, April 10, a resident of the 16700 block of Trevino Drive reported she received emails from several of her personal accounts, all within a matter of an hour, indicating someone had logged into her online accounts and had changed her passwords.

*On Friday, April 10, deputies stopped a motorist for speeding on Fountain Hills Blvd. and Crystal Point Drive. It was discovered the driver had a suspended driver’s license. He was issued a criminal citation for the offense and a civil citation for speeding.

*On Friday, April 10, a resident of the 14900 block of Mayan Drive reported she went to her vacant home which was listed for sale and she discovered intruders inside the home. Deputies arrived and found two subjects inside the residence who claimed they had rented the property from a person on Craigslist. They presented a lease agreement. The suspect’s alleged that they were the victims of a home rental scam. Deputies recognized the couple as people they had dealt with last year regarding a similar incident in which they claimed at that time they were victims of a rental scam as well. It was determined that the suspects had created the fraudulent lease and forged the signature of the owner. Both were arrested and booked into jail for burglary, forgery, fraudulent schemes and criminal damage.

*On Friday, April 10, MCSO received a call that a local restaurant was observed having people inside the restaurant in violation of the Governor’s Executive Order. Deputies responded and found guests with food to-go and not dining on-site, but several of the guests had open alcoholic beverages sitting at the bar of the restaurant. The owner of the establishment was educated on the provisions of the Governor’s Executive Order. This was the restaurant’s second warning and the owner was informed that subsequent violations may result in a criminal citation.

*On Saturday, April 11, an anonymous caller called MCSO to report violations of the Governor’s Executive Order stating there were hundreds of people out at Fountain Park and no one was maintaining social distancing. Deputies checked the area and observed people in the park, however they did not locate any large gatherings or clear violations of the Executive Order.

*On Saturday, April 11,

a caller reported a violation of the Governor’s Executive Order involving approximately 10 vehicles parked at the scenic overlook and sitting on a tailgate of a truck. Deputies responded and found a few cars parked, but found no gatherings or tailgating occurring.

*On Saturday, April 11, a resident of the 16700 block of Avenue of the Fountains reported that he accidentally discharged his firearm inside his apartment after he was test firing it, believing that it was unloaded. The projectile struck the wall, but did not enter into the adjacent apartment. No injuries resulted from the accidental discharge.

*On Sunday, April 12, a loss prevention employee with the Goodwill Store in the 13700 block of Fountain Hills Blvd. contacted deputies to report that surveillance footage showed a vehicle pulling up to their donation drop off and stealing several boxes of donations.

*On Sunday, April 12, a resident of the 17000 block of Jacklin Drive reported that sometime overnight an unknown person had entered his unlocked vehicle and stole his wallet and a work item. The victim had surveillance footage, which only captured a dark-colored, four-door vehicle passing the residence several times and then stopping, with a passenger exiting the vehicle and entering into his vehicle. The suspect could then be seen trying to enter another vehicle parked at his residence, however the vehicle was locked and not entered. The video did not provide any descriptive detail of the suspect.

*On Sunday, April 12, a resident of the 13500 block of Fountain Hills Blvd. reported an indecent exposure incident when a homeless individual was observed urinating behind a nearby business.

*On Sunday, April 12, deputies responded to the 16500 block of Ashbrook Drive where a female subject was charged with assault after it was reported she struck another female subject in the face. The victim was reportedly sitting in her vehicle after an altercation about the victim being at the suspect’s home.

*On Monday, April 13, town parks staff reported that a vehicle had struck a park sign in the parking lot at Fountain Park and left. Witnesses reported that the responsible driver appeared to be an elderly female.

*On Monday, April 13, deputies were called by a parent concerned that her son had left the residence in his vehicle with the intentions of harming himself. She reported he was also in possession of a firearm. Deputies located the vehicle at La Montana Drive and El Lago Blvd. and checked on the welfare of the subject. The subject denied ever having intentions of harming himself.

*On Monday, April 13, a resident of the 16600 block of Ashbrook Drive reported an acquaintance who was at her residence for a short period of time had stolen prescription medication from her bedroom.

*On Tuesday, April 14, a resident of the 15500 block of Richwood Avenue reported she received a phone call from a person claiming they were a representative from her credit card company and told her that there was potential fraud on her account. The caller requested personal account information, which the victim provided. After being suspicious of the caller the woman called the credit card company and discovered two unauthorized charges in the amount of $400 from Target had been made. A third purchase was attempted, but declined.

*On Tuesday, April 14, a juvenile on a bicycle was struck by a vehicle while crossing at Saguaro and Fountain Hills boulevards. The juvenile suffered minor scrapes and did not require transport to the hospital. The driver was found to have his driving privileges revoked out of another state and was issued a citation.

*On Wednesday, April 15, deputies received a report that between 5 a.m. on April 13 and 4 p.m. on April 14, approximately 175 political signs posted in various locations throughout the town had been stolen. The value of the signs was estimated to be $2,800.

*On Wednesday, April 15, a resident of the 13000 block of Mountainside Drive reported that between April 13 and April 14 an unknown suspect had broken her mailbox lock and stole the mail inside.

*On Wednesday, April 15, a resident of the 16400 block of Jacklin Drive reported that sometime between April 11 at 12 p.m. and April 12 at 11 a.m. an unknown suspect unlawfully entered his unlocked vehicle parked on the street in front of his home and stole a Bluetooth speaker.

*On Wednesday, April 15, a resident of the 16300 block of Rosetta Drive witnessed a vehicle back into a parked car and then leave without providing information required by law. While deputies were investigating, they received another call for a sick/injured person. The person was determined to be the same person involved in the accident. The person was an elderly female who was in medical distress. She was evaluated by fire personnel and transported to the hospital.

*On Wednesday, April 15, a caller reported a violation of the Governor’s Executive Order involving a local restaurant that was having a gathering and not maintaining social distancing. Deputies went to the location and found that the business was closed, the doors were locked, and there were no people in or around the business.