Man arrested following Arias trial bomb threat

Published May 09, 2013

Associated Press

PHOENIX –  Arizona authorities have arrested an 18-year-old Phoenix man in connection with a bomb threat that was tweeted after the Jodi Arias verdict was announced.

Maricopa County Sheriff's Deputy Joaquin Enriquez says Laquint Cherry was taken into custody early Thursday. He's facing a felony charge for making threats.

The investigation began Wednesday night after someone tweeted that an explosive device was going to be placed in the courtroom and was going to detonate Thursday afternoon. The sheriff's office increased security and conducted additional bomb sweeps but found nothing.

Enriquez says detectives traced the Twitter activity to a hotel in west Phoenix. The bomb squad and the SWAT team responded, and Cherry eventually came out of the hotel room. A woman who was with him was questioned and released.

Enriquez says the investigation is ongoing.

It wasn't immediately clear if Cherry had legal representation.

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Arias trial now turns to whether she lives or dies

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  Jodi Arias looks at her family after being found of guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in their suburban Phoenix home, Wednesday, May 8, 2013, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher, Pool)The Associated Press

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  From left, Kathy Brown, of Paradise Valley, Virginia Aguiar, of Scottsdale, Jane Crook, of Scottsdale, react to a guilty verdict for Jodi Arias, Wednesday, May 8, 2013, outside of Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend in Arizona after a four-month trial that captured headlines with lurid tales of sex, lies, religion and a salacious relationship that ended in a blood bath. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, David Wallace) MARICOPA COUNTY OUT; MAGS OUT; NO SALESThe Associated Press

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  Sandra Arias, center, reacts after her daughter, Jodi Arias, was found of guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in their suburban Phoenix home, Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher, Pool)The Associated Press

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  Judge Sherry Stephens is handed the decision which found Jodi Arias guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome killing of her one-time boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in their suburban Phoenix home, Wednesday, May 8, 2013, at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Rob Schumacher, Pool)The Associated Press

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  David Hall, a friend of Travis Alexander, pumps his fist outside Superior Court in Phoenix, Wednesday, May 8, 2013 to a guilty verdict in the trial of Jodi Arias. Arias was a waitress and aspiring photographer charged with killing her boyfriend, Travis Alexander, in Arizona in 2008. The four month trial included graphic details of their sexual escapades and photos of Alexander just after his death. (AP Photo/Matt York)The Associated Press

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PHOENIX –  Jodi Arias will spend the weekend on suicide watch and return to court next week when jurors are expected to consider whether the death penalty should be an option for the former waitress' sentence.

Minutes after her conviction for killing a former boyfriend, Arias told a TV station she would "prefer to die sooner than later," complicating matters for defense lawyers who had hoped to spare her life during the penalty phase of the trial. The case was scheduled to resume Thursday, but court officials postponed it until Wednesday without any explanation.

The surprising interview with Fox affiliate KSAZ only added to the circus-like environment surrounding the trial, which has become a cable TV sensation with its graphic tales of sex, lies and violence. Since her arrest, Arias has repeatedly sought the spotlight, including TV interviews, 18 days on the witness stand before a global audience, jailhouse tweets and now the post-conviction comments.

She cannot choose the death penalty. It is up to the jury to make a sentencing recommendation, and the judge will then make the final decision.

If she were sentenced to death, she could decide not to appeal to speed up the process, but it could still take years to play out as she lives under punishing conditions on death row. The state Department of Corrections says Arizona death row inmates have little contact with the outside world and only get to leave their solitary cells for two hours a day, three times a week. They get three showers a week.

The panel of eight men and four women convicted Arias of first-degree murder Wednesday after about 15 hours of deliberations over four days. Testimony began in early January.

The so-called "aggravation" phase of the trial was expected to begin next week. When it does, jurors will deliberate one more time to determine whether the death penalty should be an option for sentencing Arias.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez must convince the panel that the murder was committed in an especially cruel, heinous and depraved manner. This phase will be a mini-trial of sorts, as both sides call witnesses to present testimony to jurors — the defense in an effort to spare Arias' life, the prosecution to at least have a shot at a death sentence.

If jurors find the killing fits the definition of cruel and heinous, the panel will recommend either life in prison or death.

If the panel finds no aggravating factors exist, jurors will be dismissed and the judge will determine whether Arias should spend the rest of her life in prison or be sentenced to 25 years with the possibility of release.

Arias admitted killing her onetime boyfriend Travis Alexander on June 4, 2008. She initially denied any involvement, then later blamed masked intruders. Two years after her arrest, she said it was self-defense when the victim attacked her after a day of sex.

Prosecutors said she planned the killing in a jealous rage as Alexander wanted to end their affair and was planning to take a trip to Mexico with another woman.

Phoenix criminal defense lawyer Dwane Cates said Arias has presented obstacle after obstacle for her defense attorneys, who are now just trying to save her life.

"Her defense counsel put four years of their lives into this," Cates said. "They're trying to do everything they can for her, and every problem they have in this case is caused by her.

"Every time she opens her mouth, she creates a new problem for the defense," Cates added.

He said prosecutor Juan Martinez will likely play for jurors the jailhouse interview from several years ago in which she said she wouldn't be convicted — along with the interview she did after her conviction.

"I would say, 'Ladies and gentlemen, she challenged you to convict her and you did. Now give her her wish and put her to death,'" Cates said.

Defendants convicted of crimes rarely do interviews right after convictions and before being sentenced, but Arias honored an earlier request that she talk to the Fox station in the event of a first-degree murder conviction.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail system, has allowed Arias to do other media interviews and even put on a videotaped "American Idol"-style Christmas singing contest in which Arias took home the top prize.

The sheriff's office said no more interviews will be allowed with Arias now that she is on suicide watch.

During the next phase of the trial, prosecutors will likely call back to the witness stand the medical examiner who performed the autopsy, as well as the lead detective to explain for jurors how Alexander did not die quickly and likely suffered tremendous pain.

Arias stabbed and slashed Alexander nearly 30 times, shot him in the forehead and slit his throat from ear to ear, leaving the motivational speaker and businessman nearly decapitated before she dragged his mutilated body into his shower where friends found him about five days later.

Complicating things even more for her attorneys are Arias' own words. As she sat in jail awaiting trial several years ago, she made a bold prediction during an interview on the television show "Inside Edition."

"No jury will convict me," she said. Then she went before a camera Wednesday and made more news.

"Longevity runs in my family, and I don't want to spend the rest of my natural life in one place," a tearful Arias said. "I believe death is the ultimate freedom, and I'd rather have my freedom as soon as I can get it."

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Brian Skoloff can be followed at https://twitter.com/bskoloff .

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Jurors deliberate Arias fate amid spectacle

Published May 06, 2013

Associated Press

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  FILE - In this May 2, 2013 file photo, People gather to watch the Jodi Arias trial at a park in downtown Phoenix while the defense in Arias' murder trial presents closing arguments. It has become a real-life soap opera for people around the world and dozens of fanatics who camp out on a Phoenix sidewalk to get into the show. The star is none other than a small-town waitress who killed her lover. Jodi Arias has been on trial since January, and her case has developed an enormous following with its tales of sex, violence and betrayal. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)The Associated Press

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  FILE - In this May 1, 2013 file photo, defendant Jodi Arias sits in the courtroom during her trial at Maricopa County Superior Court in Phoenix. It has become a real-life soap opera for people around the world and dozens of fanatics who camp out on a Phoenix sidewalk to get into the show. The star is none other than a small-town waitress who killed her lover. Jodi Arias has been on trial since January, and her case has developed an enormous following with its tales of sex, violence and betrayal. (AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, Mark Henle, Pool, File)The Associated Press

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PHOENIX –  It has become a real-life soap opera for people around the world and dozens of fanatics who camp out on a Phoenix sidewalk early in the morning to get into the show. One seat even sold for $200.

A cable network has set up a stage nearby for broadcasts, and the spectacle is routinely among the most heavily trending topics on Twitter. Fans have traveled from all over the U.S. to be close to the action.

The star is none other than a small-town waitress and aspiring photographer from Northern California who killed fatally stabbed and shot her lover in 2008. Jodi Arias has been on trial for first-degree murder since January, and her case has developed an enormous following with its tales of sex, violence and betrayal.

Jurors resume deliberations Monday.

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Exchanges heat up between prosecutor, psyche expert during Arias trial

Published April 08, 2013

Associated Press

PHOENIX –  Testimony has concluded for the day in Jodi Arias' murder trial as the prosecutor worked to undermine a defense witness' credibility and accused her of being biased.

Psychotherapist Alyce LaViolette has been testifying for more than a week about her conclusion that Arias suffered domestic abuse by the victim.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez accused her on Monday of being biased, noting how the woman apologized to Arias upon their first meeting for having read her journals. LaViolette denied the accusations. She resumes testimony Tuesday.

Arias faces a possible death sentence if convicted of first-degree murder in the 2008 killing of Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. Authorities say she planned the attack in a jealous rage, but Arias says it was self-defense.

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Arias defense works to restore expert credibility

PHOENIX –  Jodi Arias' defense attorney worked Wednesday to undo any damage to the credibility of an expert witness who diagnosed the defendant with post-traumatic stress disorder and amnesia after a withering cross-examination that called into question his techniques and testing procedures.

Psychologist Richard Samuels testified for a fourth day Wednesday after telling jurors he diagnosed Arias with PTSD and dissociative amnesia, which explains why she can't remember much from the day she killed her lover. Samuels said he met with Arias a dozen times for more than 30 hours over three years while she was jailed.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez previously seized on multiple lies Arias told Samuels throughout the process of his evaluation, at one point getting the psychologist to acknowledge that he should have re-administered at least one test he used to come to his PTSD diagnosis. Martinez questioned how Samuels could have come to any definitive conclusion for a diagnosis based upon Arias' lies.

Samuels insisted his diagnosis was accurate.

"The process of forming a diagnosis is not a simple process," Samuels testified Wednesday. "The fact is that it's necessary to obtain information from as many different sources as you can."

Arias faces a possible death sentence if convicted of first-degree murder in the June 2008 killing of Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. Authorities say she planned the attack in a jealous rage. Arias initially told authorities she had nothing to do with it then blamed it on masked intruders. Two years after her arrest, she said it was self-defense.

Defense attorney Jennifer Willmott spent much of Wednesday questioning Samuels about his testing procedures. When Samuels initially began his evaluation of Arias, she was sticking to the intruder story.

Willmott went over each question and Arias' answers with Samuels.

"Did she think her life was in danger?" Willmott asked.

"Yes," Samuels replied.

"Did she feel helpless?" Willmott asked.

"Yes," Samuels said, explaining later that his diagnosis would have remained unchanged whether Arias was responding to the questions still telling the intruder story or claiming self-defense.

"If the answers remained yes before and yes after, would it have changed the score at all?" Willmott asked.

"No," Samuels said.

He said Arias also answered "no" to a question about whether she was having nightmares.

"This is a score where you could exaggerate if your intent was to skew the score in your favor," Samuels said.

He said the PTSD test was merely one tool used to come to his diagnosis.

"I based the information primarily on my interviews, the crime scene photographs and descriptions, interviews with family members, police reports, emails, text messages and the psychological tests," Samuels said.

Martinez had also questioned Samuels' credibility, accusing him of blurring the line between objective observer and therapist when he bought Arias a self-help book about building self-esteem.

Samuels denied the accusation.

"Is there ever blurring of the lines between evaluator and therapist?" Willmott asked Wednesday.

"There should not be," Samuels replied, explaining that sending Arias the book is not considered therapy.

Trial adjourned early on Wednesday after a woman in the gallery vomited.

Samuels was set to return to the witness stand Thursday to answer questions from jurors that will be read aloud by the judge. Arizona is one of a few states where jurors have the right to query witnesses. In most other states, it's up to the judge to determine whether to allow it.

Alexander suffered nearly 30 knife wounds, was shot in the head and had his throat slit before Arias dragged his body into his shower.

Arias spent 18 days on the witness stand during which she described an abusive childhood, cheating boyfriends, dead-end jobs, a shocking sexual relationship with Alexander, and her contention that he had grown physically abusive in the months leading to his death.

She said she recalls Alexander attacking her in a fury. Arias said she ran into his closet to retrieve a gun he kept on a shelf and fired in self-defense but has no memory of stabbing him.

She has acknowledged trying to clean the scene of the killing, dumping the gun in the desert and working on an alibi in an attempt to avoid suspicion. She said she was too scared and ashamed to tell the truth.

None of Arias' allegations of Alexander's violence, that he owned a gun and had sexual desires for boys, has been corroborated by witnesses or evidence. She has acknowledged lying repeatedly but insists she is telling the truth now.

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Arias questioned over self-proclaimed memory loss, repeated lies as day 30 of trial ends

PHOENIX –  Jodi Arias has concluded her testimony after 18 days on the witness stand in her Arizona death penalty trial.

She's charged with first-degree murder in the June 2008 death of Travis Alexander in his suburban Phoenix home. Authorities say she planned the attack on her lover in a jealous rage. Arias says it was self-defense.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez spent much of the day Wednesday questioning Arias over repeated lies in the case and her self-proclaimed memory lapses from the day of the killing.

Jurors also had about 10 additional questions for Arias. Last week, the panel posed about 220 questions and made it clear they aren't satisfied with her explanations. Arizona law allows jurors to quiz defendants through written questions read aloud by the judge.

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