By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – It’s been nearly a year since the freak hail storm of the century devastated the Safford area and the area is still dealing with related roofing issues.
Recently, a fed up woman was arrested for assault for striking who she deemed to be an incompetent roofer and police picked up another roofer after learning he was in the country illegally.
On Aug. 19, Amanda Woods was arrested for assault and released after she admitted she punched a roofer in desperation. Woods and her husband reported that the roofer allegedly informed their insurance adjuster that the roof was completely fixed even though it was still leaking after the most recent rain storm.
According to the roofer, he went to the address to finish off the job and collect the leftover supplies when he was told to get off the roof by Woods’ husband.
Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Valley Central: A lot of roofs still haven’t been repaired correctly since the hail storm of October 2016.
During a verbal altercation with Woods’ husband, the roofer allegedly told him, “If you’re going to hit me, do it. If you’re stupid enough to hit me, I’ll call the cops.” At that point, Amanda Woods then struck the roofer. The roofer and his wife, who was at their vehicle, recorded the incident on their cell phones.
While there were no marks on the roofer’s face, he advised he wished to pursue charges against Amanda Woods.
The Woods’ advised they were just at their wit’s end with the roofer, and that they were out $3,000 and still had a leaky roof.
Jon Johnson Photo/Gila Valley Central: Authorities remind residents to take care in selecting a roofer to complete your project and to make sure the roofer is licensed and bonded.
Traffic stop leads to UDA apprehension
On Aug. 17, a traffic stop led to the apprehension and eventual deportation of Luis Carmelo Montenegro, who was found to be in the United States illegally.
According to a Safford Police report, Montenegro failed to stop at a stop sign at 20th Street and 14th Avenue.
Montenegro could only speak slight, broken English and at first claimed to be “Luis Perez.” He was able to advise that he was a roofer working on hail-damaged roofs. He said he had been in the U.S. for 10 years, working as a roofer in Texas, Montana, Oklahoma and elsewhere.
The officer had a Spanish-speaking Border Patrol agent talk to Montenegro over the speaker phone, who soon advised that Montenegro was wanted by the Border Patrol and that they would extradite him.
Montenegro was then detained at the Graham County Jail until picked up by the Border Patrol.
