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Northeast Mesa Edition
INSIDE
This Week
COMMUNITY ........12 Collector scours EV for war memorabilia.
BUSINESS ................. 15 Mesa taco shop finds a guardian angel.
Teen suicide rates continue to rise 3
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Mesa’s war on sex traf�icking is never-ending BY CECILIA CHAN Tribune Staff Writer
O
livia Holcomb was 9 when her parents divorced and her life turned topsy-turvy. The Texas girl lived with her mom, who began bringing men home. Holcomb said growing up associating having a man around equated to happiness as she watched her mom swing from being happy to being upset, depending on if she had a man or not. “In the summer of 2018, my mom and I lived with her boyfriend at the time,” she said. “He was abusive and very mean to her.” Both adults drank and Holcomb said she was miserable when the boyfriend would start hurting her mom. “I refused to stay there,” she said. “I ran
away.” At 16 and with no money, Holcomb started meeting signi�icantly older men through a dating app. She learned giving sexual favors would earn her food, drugs and a place to sleep. She said she met about two dozen men who paid her for sex until police arrested her after her mom reported her as a runaway. Police went through Holcomb’s cellphone and discovered she was a victim of sex traf�icking. Holcomb, who now lives in Chandler, shared her story in a video Jan. 12, at the second annual Night of Hope event, hosted by 19 East Valley churches to bring awareness to sex traf�icking and encourage the public to get involved. The event, attended by over 300 people at Dr. A.J. Chandler Park, also highlighted National Human Traf�icking Awareness Month.
“This is a problem it does not know borders,” said Gilbert Police Chief Michael Soelberg, who was at the event representing law enforcement. “It’s international; it’s throughout the country; it’s throughout the state and it’s throughout our local community.” Soelberg said Mesa Police Department led the charge against sex traf�icking in the last �ive to seven years and he got involved with the issue while working there. Soleberg became Gilbert’s chief in 2017. Law enforcement agencies in Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Gilbert and Tempe – in conjunction with the Maricopa County and Arizona attorney general’s of�ices – conduct at least one operation a month in the East Valley
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Son’s slaying prompts Ready for Cookie Monster Mesa mom to sue EV care-giving company BY JORDAN HOUSTON Tribune Staff Writer
SPORTS .................... 25
Skyline High is riding high on the court. COMMUNITY ............... 12 BUSINESS .......................15 OPINION ....................... 18 SPORTS ........................ 20 GETOUT.........................22 CLASSIFIED....................25
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Mesa woman is suing a care-giving company after a former employee allegedly murdered her special-needs son. Rachel Perez’s suit accuses Community Provider Enrichment Services of turning a blind eye to the abuse her son, Joseph Trevizo, experienced at the hands of its employees – eventually leading to his death. Trevizo was working weekly at the organization’s Tempe thrift store to develop life skills. The 30-year-old was “high-functioning,” but had the mind of a 15-yearold boy, his mother said. In May 2018, he was stabbed 27 times by his program supervisor Jesse Dakins for “�lirting” with his �iancée, court records stated. Dakins faces trial on �irst-degree murder and other charges in 10 days.
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These Mesa girls are getting some relaxation now before they start the six-week Girl Scout Cookies sals campaign that launches tomorrow, Jan. 20. Girl Scouts, from left, Serenity Edwards, Aly Nimannstack, Lilee Johnson, Aubrey Nimannstack and London Collins don’t have a troop, as explained in the story on page 12. (Chris Mortenson/Tribune Staff Photographer)