At a Glance:
- 2025 prosecuted cases shifted from paper crimes to violent offenses, aggravated DUIs, and crimes against children
- Miller said he does not believe crime is increasing — detection is improving
- His office is still analyzing why case types changed; group homes, detection, and population growth may be factors
- Miller’s office prioritizes violent criminals, repeat offenders, and crimes against children; a new special victims unit was created in 2025
- Operation Shepherd’s Watch identified eight individuals willing to have sex with children in San Tan Valley
- Four areas with the most prosecuted cases, all in southern San Tan Valley
- Miller’s office will review the law enforcement memorandum of understanding with the town attorney
- The town now handles misdemeanors; Miller offered to help the town prosecutor flag repeat domestic violence offenders for felony prosecution
- Miller encouraged community education events on predator awareness and digital safety
SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ – Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller presented San Tan Valley crime statistics to the Town Council on Wednesday, February 18, showing a shift in the types of cases his office prosecutes. In 2023, prosecuted cases showed a lot more of what Miller called “paper crimes” — driving compliance issues and procedural violations — without the crimes against children and aggravated DUIs that appeared in 2025. Miller said he does not believe crime is increasing, but rather that his office and the Sheriff’s Office are doing a better job of detecting it. He noted the shift in case types but said his office is still analyzing the reasons, suggesting group homes, detection, population growth, and other factors may play a role. His presentation followed an earlier overview by Pinal County Sheriff Ross Teeple covering call volumes, patrol staffing, and the group home problem.
The agenda item was informational only. The council took no formal action.
What a County Attorney Does — And How It Connects to San Tan Valley’s Policing Future
Miller opened his presentation by explaining his role. “I’m both your District Attorney, which I handle all the felony cases in the entire county, but I also serve as a legal advisor for many of the county departments, including the sheriff’s department,” he said. “I’m the Sheriff’s Attorney.”
Earlier in the meeting, Sheriff Teeple discussed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for continued law enforcement services. Miller confirmed his office will be involved in that process. His attorneys will review the MOU alongside the town attorney before submitting it to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
Because the town is now incorporated, it will handle its own misdemeanor cases. Felony cases will continue going to Miller’s office.
“The Biggest Predictor of Future Crime Is Past Crime”
Miller outlined his office’s priorities. “Ultimately, it’s about this — we want to prosecute violent and dangerous criminals. That’s really our priority,” he said.
He described a tiered approach. His office diverts lower-level cases when possible and offers opportunities for rehabilitation. However, repeat offenders receive aggressive prosecution. “The biggest predictor of future crime is past crime,” Miller said. “And so it’s been a priority of my office to focus on violent criminals, repeat offenders, and finally crimes against children.”
Those priorities have not changed since he took office in 2025, and he told the council they will not change going forward. “My priorities are violent crime, repeat offenders, and going after individuals who prey on the most vulnerable, and that’s kids,” he said. “We will not be changing any of those policies.”
A New Special Victims Unit and Zero Tolerance for Crimes Against Children
One of Miller’s first actions after taking office in 2025 was creating a special victims unit. It had not existed in the Pinal County Attorney’s Office before. Miller, who has prosecuted crimes against children for about 15 years in both the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and the United States Marine Corps, said the unit reflects his professional focus.
“The focus of my practice has been to prosecute harshly people who commit crimes against the most vulnerable, and that’s children,” he said. “And that’s something that we do not tolerate.”
His office maintains a zero tolerance policy on these cases. “Oftentimes with these cases, we do not even give a plea offer,” Miller said. “If it’s life in prison, it’s life in prison. That’s where you belong.”
Miller said a sting case went to trial “this past week.” The man caught had a child in his custody. A Pinal County jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to 250 years in prison plus eight lifetimes on probation.
“We will continue to prosecute crimes in that way, in that manner, because that is the expectation of my office,” Miller said.
Operation Shepherd’s Watch: A Sting in San Tan Valley
In December, Miller’s office ran a sting operation called Operation Shepherd’s Watch in the San Tan Valley area. Undercover officers posed as children, sometimes ages 14, 15, or 16. They chatted online with individuals to identify those willing to engage sexually with minors.
Eight individuals expressed willingness to have sex with children in San Tan Valley. Miller said these operations also uncover live victims.
San Tan Valley Crime Statistics by Neighborhood: Four Clusters in 2025
Miller’s data differs from what Sheriff Teeple presented. Teeple reported on incident responses. Miller’s data covers only cases his office actually prosecuted. His overall data includes cases that went to trial, ended in a plea, or were dismissed. However, the neighborhood-level cluster data covers only cases where a person went to trial or took a plea and was found guilty.
His office conducted a neighborhood-by-neighborhood analysis of 2025 crime. The results were organized into clusters, and Miller highlighted four areas.
Bella Vista South (near Hunt Highway and Bella Vista) was the highest-crime area among prosecuted cases in the entire town during 2025. This cluster reflected a wide range of crimes. Violence and sexual crimes included assault, molestation of children, unlawful imprisonment, luring of a minor, and threatening and intimidating. Property and financial crimes included fraudulent use of a credit card, shoplifting, and criminal damage. Public safety and endangerment offenses included reckless driving, excessive speed endangerment, failure to stop, and unlawful flight. Digital and child welfare offenses included harassment with electronic devices and permitting children to improperly use devices. Miller said the area showed a high mix of felony-level charges, with strong implications for traffic enforcement, child protection, and digital safety.
Near Bella Vista and Gantzel ranked second. This area showed a very different mix. It included traffic and DUI-related offenses — driving under the influence, aggravated DUI, no registration, no rear license plates, interference with judicial proceedings, failure to stop, and failure to produce insurance. It also included repeat offenses such as disorderly conduct, threatening and intimidating, and criminal damage.
Johnson Ranch (Johnson Ranch loop) showed a third distinct pattern. Youth and weapons-related offenses seemed to follow this area, including escalated driving offenses, aggravated DUI, excess speed, and unlawful burning cases. Miller said unlawful burning was not seen as much in other areas. Contempt of court and preventing emergency communication were also common. Miller said this cluster showed escalated risk among youth and impaired drivers, with implications for community education and emergency response.
Skyline Ranch (near Gary and Skyline Drive) reflected high-risk driving offenses, including extreme DUI and aggravated assault. Property-related crimes, false reporting, and theft of a means of transportation also appeared. Miller noted this area had noticeably more aggravated DUI cases than other clusters, though the reason was unclear.
Crime Concentrated in Southern San Tan Valley
Mayor Daren Schnepf asked about the northern part of town, near Ironwood and Ocotillo. Miller said crime drops off significantly in that direction.
“As you get further and further north, the crime almost disappears,” he said. “There’s very, very little, especially when you get up into the Queen Creek area.” The prosecuted cases are concentrated in the southern portion of town, where the clusters appear on the map.
Miller pointed to several possible factors. “I think some of it’s related to some of the group home issues, some of it’s related to detection, and some of it’s related to population growth,” he said. “But I think there’s other factors, too.”
Why the Numbers Rose: Better Detection, Not Necessarily More Crime
The 2025 statistics show a significant increase in serious cases compared to 2023. Miller acknowledged the numbers appear to show crime is increasing. However, he said he does not believe that is what is happening.
“I don’t believe that crime is increasing. I believe that we’re doing a better job of detecting crime,” he said. “We’re doing a better job of finding where these folks are. We’re doing a better job of not just waiting till victims are victimized, but we’re going out into the community positively.”
He credited the Sheriff’s Office as a partner in that effort. “We’re actually finding these individuals, finding the repeat offenders, finding the people on probation warrants, and actually arresting them and locking them up and keeping them out of our community,” Miller said.
Miller said the shift from 2023 to 2025 reflects what happens when trained investigators actively seek out serious offenses rather than waiting for reports. “Sometimes when you go for it and you seek it and you have better professionally trained individuals, like my office has and I know the sheriff’s office has, to deal with these specific types of crime, they get better at detecting it,” he said. “And that’s what we’re doing. We’re getting better at detecting this crime so we can try to eradicate it from your town.”
In his earlier presentation, Sheriff Teeple noted other factors shaping the data. He reported that drug paraphernalia cases have dropped since Arizona legalized recreational marijuana, and he explained that Arizona’s domestic violence statute applies broadly. It covers any altercation between people who have ever shared a household or had a romantic relationship, which inflates those numbers.
Engagement as Strategy: Community, Schools, and the Town Prosecutor
Vice Mayor Tyler Hudgins asked Miller what the town could do to help his office or the sheriff’s office. Miller’s answer centered on engagement. He described speaking at San Tan Valley schools about two months ago and said students need more exposure to what law enforcement and prosecutors do.
“I think a lot of the schools, a lot of the students need more exposure to what police officers do, what my office does,” he said. He referenced programs like DARE and presidential fitness as examples of effective community engagement that have faded. After a recent recruiting trip to Washington, D.C., Miller said law students told him the top recruiting tool is in-person exposure — not online outreach.
“Engage, engage, engage,” Miller told the council. “We want to engage. That’s why we’re here.”
He also connected engagement to a practical concern involving the new town prosecutor’s office. With the town now handling misdemeanors, Miller warned that domestic violence cases need careful tracking across jurisdictions. Miller said that multiple domestic violence misdemeanors can escalate into a felony under Arizona statute 13-3601.02. If a repeat offender’s cases remain in misdemeanor court when they should be referred for felony prosecution, the offender avoids the higher charges.
Miller offered his office’s help. “We would encourage the town to engage with us. We would encourage the prosecutor to engage with us,” he said. “We can help cross-train them. We can answer questions and work with them with some of the tools that we have.”
Protecting Residents from Known Offenders
Councilmember Rupert Wolfert raised a personal concern. He recently received a postcard notifying him that a sex offender was moving into a nearby neighborhood. He asked Miller what residents can do when they receive that kind of notice.
“The biggest thing as a resident is, what do we do?” Wolfert said. “It’s great that we’re notified, but again, you feel this sense of helplessness.”
Miller pointed to community education as a first step. His office has held events in San Tan Valley covering luring cases, predatory apps, and how offenders target children online. At one session, a young woman demonstrated how quickly phones can be hacked and how predators fake their identities to contact minors. He encouraged residents and council members to invite his office back for more events.
“Reach out to my office, because we may have a division that can certainly provide you resources and information to give to not only yourself, sir, but also members of your community,” Miller said.
