Glendale’s Community Newspaper
Vol. 78 No. 15
Inside This Week
www.glendalestar.com
Westgate shooter set for sentencing BY JORDAN ROGERS
Glendale Star Staff Writer
Health & Wellness Guide
SPORTS ............. 14
NASCAR offers career input to West-MEC students
The man in connection with a Westgate Entertainment District shooting on May 21, 2020, is set for sentencing May 2. Armando Hernandez pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon at the settlement conference on April 1. Many other counts were dismissed due to a plea agreement. Hernandez, 22, is set to face upward of 44 years in prison. Hernandez is set to appear for sentencing at the Phoenix Municipal Court in Downtown Phoenix.
Glendale Star Contributing Writer
Local business honored by ASU Alumni Association
OPINION............................8 BUSINESS.......................12 SPORTS ...........................14 CALENDAR .....................16 FEATURES.......................18 RELIGION ........................20 YOUTH.............................22 CLASSIFIEDS ..................23
On May 21, 2020, he shot a 30-year-old woman, 19-year-old man and a 16-yearold girl in what was called a random attack. All three victims survived. Hernandez, who was armed with an AR-15, reportedly was trying to shoot 10 people. His assault rifle jammed before he could reach that goal. Police arrested Hernandez, who was 20 years old at the time, and charged him with multiple counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. At the time, he told police he wasn’t trying to kill anybody, but rather cause injury. He told police that he identified as an
“incel,” short for involuntary celibate. Hernandez also told police that he shot people to “gain respect.” The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said Hernandez targeted couples. Prosecutors later said that Hernandez had been planning a “mass casualty” attack over the course of three years. On May 20, 2021, just one day prior to the shooting, he took a video of himself driving. “Hello, my name is Armando Junior Hernandez and I’m going to be the shooter of Westgate 2020,” he said, showing guns in his back seat. “This is to get back at society.”
Journalist turns to politics to work with communities BY DAVID ULLOA JR.
FEATURES ......... 19
April 14, 2022
When Analise Ortiz was a theater student in high school, she aspired to be an actress. However, her father told her she needed to get a degree so she can make a living. She pivoted to journalism, and this was the beginning of her professional career. A former reporter and ACLU activist, Ortiz is running for Arizona state representative of the Maryvale and Glendale communities of Legislative District 24. Her time in Phoenix started when she moved from Scottsdale to Phoenix to attend the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University, Ortiz said.
Ortiz said she chose to live in Phoenix, specifically the Maryvale area, because the people within the Maryvale and Glendale communities are amazing. If elected to office, an issue Ortiz hopes to tackle is homelessness in the Maryvale and Glendale areas. “Starts with a conversation of why we having people living on the streets,” Ortiz said. Ortiz said she strongly supports rent-control policies and more measures to prevent people from going homeless. Having compassion toward other human beings is a value of hers, Ortiz said. If elected, Ortiz wants to help get the homeless population shelters and medical SEE JOURNALIST PAGE 4
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A former reporter and ACLU activist, Analise Ortiz hopes to represent Legislative District 24. (Analise Ortiz/Submitted)