Dale Warren Graham (Payson Police booking photo)

PAYSON (NAZ Today)– A 94-year-old Payson man is in jail on multiple sex-related charges.

Last week, Payson Police Department officers arrested Dale Warren Graham when he was caught in the garage of another home with a vacuum running on the front of his pants, according to Payson Police Chief Don Engler.  A three-week investigation has so far concluded that Graham had inappropriately touched at least two children.

Graham is in custody on charges of public sexual indecency, aggravated assault, and child molestation.

The investigation is ongoing, and PPD is looking for additional information.  Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Michael Varga at the Payson Police Department at (928) 474-5177 extension 271.

A security camera footage of one of the High Country Bandits (Courtesy: FBI)

SHOW LOW (NAZ Today)– Two men have been arrested in connection to the recent string of bank robberies in Flagstaff and other parts of the southwest.

Joel Jay Glore and Ronald Michael Capito were arrested in the Show Low area after a week of surveillance by FBI and other officials.

Both men are in their 50s and officials suspect that they are the “High Country Bandits” who robbed as many as 16 banks in the four corners region over the last six months.  In Arizona, the robberies were in Flagstaff, Heber, Pinetop, and Payson.

According to the FBI, the following credit union and banks have been credited to the High Country Bandits:

• 09/08/09, Bank of the West, 1945 Highway 260, Heber, AZ
• 09/22/09, First National Bank of Durango, 351 Bayfield Center Drive, Bayfield, CO
• 10/14/09, Arizona Central Credit Union, 1948 S. Woodland Village Blvd, Flagstaff, AZ
• 10/30/09, Country Bank, 3044 North Glassford Hill Road, Prescott Valley, AZ
• 11/10/09, First Community Bank, 19390 Highway 314, Belen, NM.
• 11/25/09, Compass Bank, 613 S. Beeline Highway, Payson, AZ
• 12/03/09, Chase Bank, 5305 S. Superstition Mtn Dr., Gold Canyon, AZ
• 12/04/09, Compass Bank, 781 E. White Mountain Blvd., Pinetop, AZ
• 12/15/09, Wells Fargo Bank, 12140 N. Dove Mountain Blvd, Marana, AZ
• 12/22/09, Bank of the San Juans, 1710 Main St., Durango, CO
• 01/25/10, Sunwest Bank, 822 N. Humphreys, Flagstaff, AZ
• 02/05/10, Community Banks of Colorado, 1438 E. Main St., Cortez, CO

The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office says that Glore was arrested at a Show Low hospital where he was being treated for a ruptured appendix. Capito was arrested at his house in Linden, just outside of Show Low, at around the same time as Glore was arrested.

FBI agents executed search warrants at the men’s homes. Authorities would not disclose details on how Glore and Capito were identified as suspects or how much money was taken in the robberies.

Security camera images of the High Country Bandits robbing a bank. (Image courtesy: FBI)

Image of one of the High Country Bandits during a robbery. (Image courtesy: FBI)

–

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FBI Press Release on High Country Bandits

(January 21, 2010 – 7:10 p.m.)  Heavy rainfall across Arizona this week has caused the following road closures due to significant runoff and flood conditions in many creeks and rivers of Gila County.

In Globe: Six Shooter Canyon Road; the bridge just past Pueblo Heights Trailer Park; Silver Hills; Orient Street: Hoopes Drive & Adobe Road.

In Roosevelt, Campaign Wash is closed.

In Payson all crossings along Houston Mesa Road are closed.

In Star Valley: the corner of Moonlight & Rainbow;

In Pine: Pine Creek @ South Road and Pine Creek @ Bradshaw;

In Middle Round Valley: Gibson Ranch Road

Hwy 260 east of Star Valley and Hwy 87 north of Pine are open to 4 wheel drive or chains only.

An evacuation order is in effect for low lying areas along Tonto Creek in Tonto Basin.  A Red Cross shelter is now open for evacuees at the Tonto Basin School at 445 S. Old Highway 188, Punkin Center.

All crossings along Tonto Creek in Tonto Basin are barricaded closed.  Do not attempt to cross barricaded or flooded roads.  Flood waters running over normally dry creek beds are extremely treacherous.  Just 1 foot of water can sweep vehicles off the road.

Continuing rain will likely increased flooding due to ground saturation.  Residents in communities along rivers, creeks and washes should closely monitor weather radio.

The Gila County Emergency Management HOTLINE will post information as events occur. Call:  1-928-402-8888 or 1-800-304-4452 extension 8888.

An eyewitness is reporting to NAZ Today that some power lines are down on the east side of Flagstaff near Country Club Estates and are still live.  If you encounter downed power lines, APS advises that you call 9-1-1 and stay as far away from the lines as possible.  If power lines fall on your vehicle, do not attempt to exit the vehicle until firefighters instruct you to do so.

As of 9 PM Monday, the National Weather Service is reporting that Flagstaff has received 15-21 inches of snow.  An additional 6-12 inches of snow is possible overnight, along with winds gusting to 70 miles per hour in Flagstaff, with locally higher gusts east of the San Francisco Peaks. South of Flagstaff, parts of this storm have prompted five Severe Thunderstorm Warnings across the Metro Phoenix area, moving into central and southern Gila Counties at around 50 miles per hour. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning for Payson has just expired, and another Warning is in effect for Roosevelt Lake.  An eyewitness in Payson reported extremely heavy rainfall, lighting, and gusty winds at 12:15 am. These storms are moving east at 45 mph.

National Weather Service Short Term Forecast for the Flagstaff area:

SHORT TERM FORECAST
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FLAGSTAFF AZ
1158 PM MST MON DEC 7 2009

AZZ015-016-080800-
WESTERN MOGOLLON RIM-EASTERN MOGOLLON RIM-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FLAGSTAFF...WILLIAMS...MUNDS PARK...
HEBER...HAPPY JACK...FOREST LAKES
1158 PM MST MON DEC 7 2009

.NOW...
VERY STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE MOVING UP ON TO THE MOGOLLON RIM
SUSTAINED WINDS FROM 30 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 70 MPH CAN
BE EXPECTED. THE STRONG WINDS HAVE MADE IT INTO WEST FLAGSTAFF AND
SHOULD OVER SPREAD THE CITY BY 1230 AM MST. THE WINDS COMBINED
WITH THE HEAVY SNOW WILL CAUSE ZERO VISIBILITY AND CONSIDERABLE
DRIFTING OF SNOW MAKING ROADS IMPASSIBLE THROUGH 200 TO 400 AM
MST.

Stay with NAZToday.com as we continue to track this winter storm event.

The National Weather Service in Flagstaff issued a Blizzard Warning for the Eastern Mogollon Rim and Western Mogollon Rim including Flagstaff, Heber, Happy Jack, and Williams (Photo Courtesy: NWS Flagstaff)

FLAGSTAFF (NAZ Today)– The Blizzard Warning for Flagstaff has been allowed to expire by the National Weather Service.

High winds and heavy snowfall caused dangerous traveling conditions on area roadways.  The NWS and DPS say that travel should be limited due to icy and snow-packed road conditions.

A Winter Storm Warning was in affect for much of the higher elevations of northern Arizona, including Grand Canyon Village, the Navajo Nation, northern Gila County (including Payson), and I-40 from Holbrook eastward.

A Winter Storm Watch was in effect for the Little Colorado River Valley including Winslow and along parts of US 89 from Grey Mountain northward to the Tuba City turnoff.

The NWS says that over two feet of snow has fallen in the Flagstaff area, winds were sustained at 50 mph overnight, with gusts in the 70-75 mph range.

Snow and ice are still a problem on the roads Tuesday, with city, county, and state crews working to plow and de-ice.  If you have to travel, plan on leaving well ahead of time and notifying other people of your plans.  Travel with additional clothing.

For the latest information on this significant weather event, visit the National Weather Service Flagstaff Forecast Office Homepage at www.weather.gov/flagstaff.

The park, located 10 miles north of Payson, was closed due to budget cuts until Payson on May 22 funded part-time positions necessary to keep it open at least on weekends throughout the summer and now until Nov. 15.

Beginning on Nov. 19, the park will be open Thursdays through Mondays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The park’s historic lodge has been under structural repair since Feb. 26 and will remain closed due to additional internal construction projects.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

Type-1 Helicopter at Payson Airport (Patrick Walker/NAZ Today)

UPDATE:  Beaver Valley residents have been allowed to return to their homes, and Whispering Pines residents will be allowed to return to their homes at 5 pm. Fire behavior is minimal, with crews focusing on mop-up operations.  Fire officials are saying that the focus will soon shift to localized flooding, with the remnants of Hurricane Jimena expected to impact the area over the weekend.  Resources are being released from the fire as the day continues.

PAYSON– Fire crews continued burnouts along the southern and eastern part of the Water Wheel Fire Monday, but according to the latest numbers from the Southwest Coordination Center’s 8:30 am briefing, the fire has still managed about a 50% gain in size to 773 acres.

Crews are reporting the most active fire behavior along the northern and northeastern parts of the fire, with Whispering Pines being to the north being the main concern.  The difficulty of the terrain and the step fuels into the pine trees have required a Type-1 Hot Shot crew to begin work on the fire.

Firefighters are scouting the western side of the fire for a place to establish a line.  Low-intensity fire behavior has been reported for much of the fire, but the northern edge of the fire is still burning intensely.  Whispering Pines remains evacuated.

Six hot shot crews are fighting the fire; one of them a Type-1 crew.  293 total personnel are assigned to the fire, along with three helicopters and 19 fire engines.  700 structures are listed as threatened.

Today’s weather calls for a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms over the area.  Winds will be from the northeast at 5-10 miles per hour, gusting to 20 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.  Locally gusty outflow winds are possible from thunderstorms that do develop over the area.

Water Wheel Fire smoke at 6 am (Patrick Walker/NAZ Today)

PAYSON– Firefighters made progress on the Water Wheel Fire Sunday night after conducting burnout operations and receiving some much-needed help.  Tony Sciacca’s Arizona Central West Zone Type-2 Incident Management Team arrived at 10 PM Sunday evening, according to a spokesperson from the Tonto National Forest.  The fire is still listed at 500 acres.

192 personnel are now fighting the fire.  Crews conducted burnouts along the northern edge of the fire, “to provide an anchor point for the firefighters to work safely,” according to this morning’s news release.  The fire is burning in Ponderosa Pine trees and in dense manzanita brush, which has created a hazard for firefighters attempting to fight the fire.  Crews hope the burnout operations will clear some space and allow for firefighters to maneuver easier around the perimeter of the fire.

Fire crews will primarily focus on the southern and western flanks of the fire, as well as patrol for spot fires.  Today’s forecast calls for temperatures in the upper 80’s and a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms, with southwesterly winds at 10-15 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.  Winds from any storms developing over the Mogollon Rim above the fire could produce locally gusty outflow winds.

Beaver Valley and Whispering Pines remain under evacuation orders today.  A public meeting is scheduled for 6:30 pm this evening at the Payson High School Auxiliary Gymnasium (”The Old Gym”) to update residents on the fire.

Control Road closed at SR 87 (Patrick Walker/NAZ Today)

Several Forest Service roads remain closed in the area. FR 199 (Houston Mesa Road) is closed at several spots, starting at Freedom Acres.   Also closed in several spots is the Control Road, FR 64, starting at State Route 87 just north of the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park turnoff.

Other resources assigned to the fire:  five crews, 15 engines, three helicopters, two air tankers, one water tender.