Glendale’s Community Newspaper
Vol. 77 No. 4
INSIDE
This Week
www.glendalestar.com
Prosecutor speaks up to save lives BY TOM SCANLON
Glendale Star Managing Editor
NEWS............ 10 Gallego votes for, Lesko against impeachment
FEATURES .... 19 Glencroft staff rises to COVID-19 challenge
OPINION..................... 12 BUSINESS.................. 13 SPORTS ...................... 16 FEATURES.................. 18 RELIGION ................... 20 YOUTH........................ 22 CLASSIFIEDS ............. 23
January 21, 2021
In two decades as a Maricopa County prosecuting attorney, Gina Godbehere has seen some grisly crime scenes. Though her main function is to prove guilt in court, she takes a boots-on-the-ground approach, arriving at murder scenes as police are still identifying witnesses and investigators taking photos of those who were living just minutes before. Godbehere investigates dozens of homicides each year and has seen it all — shootings, stabbings, horrific car wrecks. What she saw five years ago at Independence High School in Glendale buckled her knees: Two 15-year-olds were dead after a murder-suicide. When she arrived at the campus the morning of Feb. 12, 2016, police officers were putting up crime scene tape and helicopters
flying overhead. “What was different was all of the parents in the blocked-off areas. You could just see in their faces the sense of urgency,” Godbehere said. She paused in her description to compose herself. “I’m a mother of two girls and can’t imagine that happening to my daughters — the school is on lockdown and a lot of anxiety, figuring out what we had and making sure the school was safe,” she said. As the investigation unfolded, it only disturbed the veteran prosecutor more. “In the days after, we heard there was some indication that (the shooter) had got a gun and had some conversations with other people. But nobody took that threat seriously,” Godbehere said. “When you think about that, with almost SEE PROSECUTOR PAGE 4
Gina Godbehere, right, is one of the founders of Speak Up, Stand Up, Save a Life. She is shown at a previous conference with co-founder and Pendergast Superintendent Dr. Lily Matos DeBlieux, left, and keynote speaker Jeremy Anderson. (Photo courtesy Speak Up, Stand Up, Save a Life)
1B vaccine expands as COVID-19 rages BY TOM SCANLON
Glendale Star Managing Editor
Pandemic pessimists and oasis optimists alike have reason to dig into their views. Even as Gov. Doug Ducey praised the rollout of vaccines at State Farm Stadium, COVID-19 continues to ravage the West Valley, with a stunning acceleration of the spread over the last week. West Valley coronavirus numbers surged far past the marker of 100 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 in a one-week period that is considered “substantial spread.”
The citywide average for Glendale rocketed from 511 cases per 100,000 to 811. Peoria increased from 633 cases per 100,000 to 958. Litchfield Park and Waddell also topped 800 cases per 100,000. Glendale ZIP code 85303 increased from 702 cases per 100,000 to 872, while 85301 increased from 538 to 753 cases per 100,000. Glendale 85305 nearly doubled from 578 to 1,007 cases per 100,000. Glendale 85302 also topped 1,000 COVID-19 cases per
100,000 population in the last week. Peoria 85383 increased from 711 to 1,084 cases per 100,000, while Peoria 85345 surged to 872 cases per 100,000. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, Arizona has been the state with the highest spread in the country — yet the West Valley is many times above the state average of 125 cases per 100,000 in the last seven days. The national average is 71 cases per 100,000. While the deadly disease — more than SEE VACCINE PAGE 5