May was a month filled with stories of recognition, awareness, prevention of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons cases (MMIP), and major court moves. Your May 2025 Community Newsletter has arrived.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office joined the prosecutor’s offices in Chicago and Denver in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for withholding millions of dollars that had been appropriated by Congress to pay for the shelter of legally processed asylum seekers in 2024 and 2025. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern Illinois, is a legal effort to force the federal government to honor its promise to provide the financial support. The Pima County Board of Supervisors released information about our decision to join the suit.
Justice prevailed in the case against a local woman who made the tragic decision to pay attention to her cell phone while at the wheel of her vehicle. Jana Giron was found guilty on two counts of negligent homicide in connection with the 2019 multi-vehicle crash in Oro Valley that claimed the lives of Caitlin Festerling and Paul Garcia. Aggravating factors that can add time to her sentence were also proven during the trial. The case offers a strong example of the dangers of texting while driving.
Our Appellate Team notched an important win in May when they successfully argued that the man convicted of the 2008 shooting death of Tucson Police Officer Erik Hite should not receive post-conviction relief from the sentence handed down after he pleaded guilty to the offense. State v Delich went before the Arizona Court of Appeals after he challenged the conviction years later. The PCAO team strongly opposed the request for relief, and the court agreed.
Our Special Victims Bureau won a prolonged trial to deliver overdue justice for four members of a local family who suffered decades of sexual abuse by a relative. The case of State v Morales was continued six times after the trial began, forcing victims to wait for the resolution. In the end, 14 guilty verdicts were reached, and the defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The case involving a brutal attack on a Tucson Police officer in early May was another example of the reforms needed in the cash bail system and in our own initial appearance process. Questions and concerns abounded after the arrestee was released after a PCAO prosecutor requested that bond be set high enough to keep him in jail. County Attorney Laura Conover vowed to continue fighting for reforms that will make our community safer.
Earlier in the month, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover released the following statement regarding a Guatemalan migrant mother who gave birth at Tucson Medical Center and was thought to be in federal custody.
“I am informed by my law enforcement partners in the federal government that the young mother who gave birth at Tucson Medical Center has been reunited with her newborn and taken to a Phoenix non-governmental organization where they have been released to the NGO’s care. This is exactly the kind of circumstance that humanitarian exceptions to the law are meant for. I thank the staff at TMC and the community for showing once again the compassion Tucson is known for.”
Mental health disorder alone is not a risk factor for criminal behavior, but when experienced in tandem with other factors such as substance abuse and living unsupported on the streets, criminal behavior can be the result.
So, when Mental Health Awareness Month arrived in May, the Pima County Attorney’s Office put a strong focus on the importance of understanding, recognizing, and seeking support for mental illness.
Our social media platforms were full of insights and resources from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as we seek to help Pima County residents live safe and healthy lives.
Themes of this month’s campaign were:
Our own leaders in alternative justice shared their experiences with the role mental illness plays in criminal behavior in a video produced by our Communications Department. Check out the video below, Specialty Courts Director Nahrin Jabro and Restorative Justice Coordinator Emmanuelle Fahey discuss the topic.
Three members of the PCAO staff were honored to participate in the Pima County Behavioral Health Conference at the Doubletree Hotel on Thursday, May 29. The conference, organized and hosted by the Pima County Health Department, brought together several hundred people from government agencies and non-governmental organizations that work to address substance abuse disorder to do the groundwork for a blueprint for working together to improve services and reduce the number of overdoses in Pima County.
The all-day conference included comments from Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher, Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen, and others, and attendees participated in breakout sessions to discuss gaps in service and ideas for filling those gaps and improving services. The discussions will be the foundation for a report that sets the stage for the implementation of programs and changes to the current approach to addressing overdose rates and substance abuse disorder in our community. We look forward to a long and productive partnership with all involved for the continued health and safety of Pima County.
The University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law invited Laura to speak with law students about her career as an attorney, and she was happy to oblige. A Rogers alum, Laura met with about a dozen aspiring lawyers, sharing her experience as both County Attorney and a defense lawyer, while making connections that might lead some into a career in prosecution.
The MMIP effort was also the focus of a local news story and interview that Laura and Pascua Yaqui Attorney General O.J. Flores did with KOLD.
On the evening of May 21, family and friends gathered at the Pima County Sheriff’s Department office for the 2025 Annual Law Enforcement Memorial. County Attorney Laura Conover was there to honor those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
After a year of meetings, projects, and enlightenment, our time with our first group of San Miguel H.S. interns has come to an end. We want to thank all of our departments for engaging and helping them learn about what we do at “The People’s Office”. We also want to thank Angel, Fernanda, Marely, Karla, Jace, and Jessica (all freshmen by the way) for their hard work, creativity, energy, and dedication to their work at the office.
Seeing you grow, learn, and contribute in meaningful ways has been awesome. We hope you take the lessons learned here and carry them forward with whatever you choose to do. We’re also excited to meet our new San Miguel interns making their way to the office this fall. The future looks bright!
The second week of May is Public Service Recognition Week, and a cohort of PCAO staff was on hand May 8 for a Pima County sponsored event at the Historic Courthouse in downtown Tucson. Laura joined the Pima County Board of Supervisors and others in handing out refreshments and prizes in gratitude for the many ways county employees make the community better.
We recruit legal researchers, litigators, and professional staff who use their unique talents to move our Office forward. You’re invited to apply to work for a progressive prosecuting agency that values accountability, public service, and outcome-driven thinking.
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Our outreach team joined the Team Up to Clean Up group that included the City of Tucson, the Mayor’s Office, and Job Corps to help clean up a cluttered wash in the “29 Thrive Neighborhood” on Tucson’s near eastside. It was a great group effort that left the wash free of waste and debris, helping to beautify the area and make it safer for those living and working in the area.
PCAO is pleased to be among those nominated for United Way of Tucson’s Champions of Caring Award and Best Large Company. The “Employees Care About Pima County” (ECAP) released their nominations for departmental awards, and the charitable giving of Pima County Attorney’s Office employees earned a Silver Award.
We truly appreciate each and every one of you who helped make the 2024-2025 United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona Annual Campaign a success.
And hats off to our PCAO ECAP coordinators Stephanie Barker, Star Romero, Rosa Ramos, Lisa Dauer, Bianca Rosales, and Angelica Garcia.
The PCAO Community Newsletter is published and distributed monthly.
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The Pima County Attorney’s Office continued work with Indivisible Tohono, the Southern Arizona task force on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children, in March. Led by April Ignacio, the group held a powerful meeting to begin identifying gaps in services in Pima County that can be filled to address the ongoing crisis on native lands. Here at The People’s Office, we continue to work on identifying enrolled tribal and Nation members who come to us as both victims and defendants, as just one important and challenging step.
Meanwhile, our Victim Services Division is marking its 50th year of providing support to crime victims and witnesses, and is busy preparing for Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, including National Victim Rights Week. (Psst: Watch this space for more on the 50th Anniversary of Victim Services in next month’s Community Newsletter.)
Our Civil Division is helping to troubleshoot the ongoing federal actions regarding funding and directives, with a strong focus on our environmental departments.