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5 bodies found burned inside SUV in Arizona desert Jun 3rd 2012, 02:26 Pinal County Sheriff'S Office / AP This image provided Saturday by the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, shows the vehicle where five dead bodies found burned inside in Pinal County's Vekol Valley area, west of Casa Grande, Ariz. By msnbc.com staff Five bodies burned beyond recognition in a charred vehicle discovered in the southern Arizona desert appear to be victims of drug-smuggling violence, Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu said Saturday. Follow @msnbc_us Deputies are searching for suspects in the killings just west of Casa Grande, in desolate Vekol Valley between Phoenix and Tucson, NBC Station KVOA of Tucson reported. Around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, a border patrol agent saw a Ford Expedition pulled over on Interstate 8, Babeu said. The vehicle had gone airborne off the interstate, he said. When the agent approached the SUV, the driver took off. The smoldering Expedition was found about 8:30 a.m. Four bodies were found in the cargo area and one was in the backseat, Babeu said. None were in the driver or passenger seats, he said. Watch US News crime videos on msnbc.com He said evidence pointed to drug smuggling, but he did not specify what the evidence was. "This is pretty significant," he said. "Given all these indicators, you don't have to be a homicide detective to add up all this information." Pinal County deputies were involved in more than 350 high-speed pursuits last year, and Babeu said most of those involved cartel members. There have been shootings, the bodies of murder victims have been left in the desert and just this week, several loads of drugs were confiscated, he said. "This happens far too often and usually our involvement is just a small percentage of what really goes on," the sheriff said. "Is it concerning? Is it troubling? Yes it is." Babeu said investigators will try to determine whether the victims were dead before the SUV was set ablaze or whether they were alive when the fire was started. "Clearly these people were murdered, but we don't know the manner of death," he said. He said killings related to Mexican drug cartels are rare so close to Phoenix, The Arizona Republic newspaper reported. The Associated Press contributed to this report. More content from msnbc.com and NBC News: Convicted official: Cutting my pension by $425,000 is 'elder abuse' Three dead, basketball players hurt in head-on crash in Nebraska Mother of missing Kyron Horman sues boy's stepmom for $10 million Video: Crews make aggressive push on New Mexico fire WWII veteran graduates from high school 70 years later Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook Media files: 120602-pinal-hmed-5p.photoblog400.jpg (image/jpeg) $190,000 settlement in girl's Ecstasy death after Coliseum rave Jun 3rd 2012, 01:50 By Jason Kandel, NBCLosAngeles.com LOS ANGELES -- The family of a 15-year-old girl who died of an Ecstasy overdose after a rave at the Coliseum in 2010 has settled in court for $190,000, the lawyer for the family said on Saturday. Follow @msnbc_us Sasha Rodriguez died after the Electric Daisy Carnival dance party at LA’s historic sports venue in a high-profile case that led to the arrests of two former Coliseum executives and a grand jury indictment investigating public corruption. Rodriguez was underage; the party was intended for those 16 and older. See the original report, video at NBCLosAngeles.com Some $175,00 will be paid to her family on behalf of the rave concert promoter, Insomniac Inc., and the Coliseum Commission. Coliseum manager Todd DeStefano will pay $15,000, said Steven D. Archer, a lawyer for Sasha’s parents. A lawyer for Insomniac, Gary Jay Kaufman, told the Los Angeles Times that Rodriguez’s death was not the promoter's fault. "Insomniac was sued for who we were, not what we did," he told The Times in a statement. "If Sasha Rodriguez had snuck into the Hollywood Bowl during a Barry Manilow concert and overdosed on some drug, there never would have been a lawsuit. "Insomniac did not admit any wrongdoing or liability as part of the settlement because they did not in fact do anything wrong." In a case unrelated to Sasha’s death, prosecutors said in March that six people, including three former top managers for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, were indicted on conspiracy, embezzlement and bribery charges for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from the stadium. A Los Angeles County grand jury indicted DeStefano, Coliseum general manager Patrick Lynch, former technical manager Leopold Caudillo Jr., music and event promoters Pasquale Rotella and Reza Gerami, and janitorial contractor Antonio Estrada. The indictment alleged that Lynch, 55, and DeStefano, 39, participated in a variety of schemes beginning in 2006 that siphoned money from the city- and county-owned stadium into their own pockets, prosecutors said. Las Vegas embraces rave shunned by Los Angeles DeStefano, who quit in January 2011, allegedly received more than $1.8 million from Insomniac, the company that produced the Electric Daisy Carnival, and Go Ventures, which also sponsored Coliseum events, the District Attorney said. "The only thing $190,000 settles is which side had better lawyers,” LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who sits on the panel, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this settlement compounds the tragic death of Sasha Rodriguez." The Coliseum briefly imposed a moratorium on rave events at the venue following Rodriguez's death. A lawyer for DeStefano declined to comment. More content from msnbc.com and NBC News: Convicted official: Cutting my pension by $425,000 is 'elder abuse' Police: Mom drove off with baby on car roof Three dead, basketball players hurt in head-on crash in Nebraska Mother of missing Kyron Horman sues boy's stepmom for $10 million Video: Crews make aggressive push on New Mexico fire Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook Cops: Couple's wrong-number call to officer leads to prostitution arrests Jun 3rd 2012, 00:56 By Bob Connors, NBCConnecticut.com Police in Middletown, Conn., arrested a man and woman after the couple allegedly called an on-duty police officer and offered up a prostitute. Follow @msnbc_us According to police, John Tosta, 41, mistakenly dialed an undercover detective with the Middletown Police Street Crime Narcotics Unit Thursday afternoon around 5:30 p.m. The detective initially told Tosta he had the wrong number, but Tosta insisted that he believed he had called the same number the day before, and that the caller was looking for a girl, according to the arrest affidavit. The officer played along, and worked out a price with Tosta, $100 for 30 minutes, according to police. See the original report at NBCConnecticut.com The detective then asked to speak to the girl. Tosta put her on the phone, and the woman again went over the price and asked how long the encounter would be, police said. Tosta allegedly told the detective he would call back with an exact location to meet. The officer then notified other detectives and set up an undercover operation. The detective received a second call, telling him to show up at East Street near Grandview Terrace. As they officers pulled up, they saw the man and woman standing waiting for them. According to police, the officers recognized the woman, Lea Fuller, from previous arrests. She began to run, but was quickly taken into custody. Officers had to tackle Tosta, and handcuff him, police said. Tosta is charged with third-degree promoting prostitution and interfering with police. Fuller is charged with prostitution and interfering with police. Both were held on $10,000 bond. More content from msnbc.com and NBC News: Convicted official: Cutting my pension by $425,000 is 'elder abuse' Police: Mom drove off with baby on car roof Three dead, basketball players hurt in head-on crash in Nebraska Mother of missing Kyron Horman sues boy's stepmom for $10 million Video: Crews make aggressive push on New Mexico fire Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

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