47-year-old Mark Goudeau, dubbed the ‘Baseline Killer’ in Phoenix, has been sentenced to death for his convictions by a jury.

The crimes committed by Baseline Killer Goudeau struck fear into the Phoenix metro area from the summer of 2005 until the summer of 2006. By the time Goudeau was stopped, nine people had died and more than a dozen had been sexually assaulted during the spree. Initially, Godreau had been sentenced to nearly 500 years in prison for his crimes- during which prosecutors say victims were subjected to agonizing over whether they would live or die- before he became eligible for the death penalty. Two weeks ago, Godreau prohibited his lawyers from further handling the case after they suggested to a jury that impotence and insecurity drove him to sexually assault and kill eight women and a man. Instead, Godreau himself addressed the jury, denying his role in the murders and saying that he hoped the “truth” about the crimes would come out:

“I am no monster… I could look in each and every one of your eyes today and tell you Mark Goudeau is no wolf in sheep’s clothing … I do pray that one day you guys learn the truth about this case.”

Prosecutor Patricia Stevens argued that Godreau was, in fact, a monster, and that the pain and anguish of his victims in part drove him to commit the Baseline Killer crimes. Stevens said:

“He enjoyed the power and dominion he exercised over these victims. He enjoyed the threats of force, the threats of death.”

Stevens noted that Godreau had not apologized to any of the victims families. He was sentenced to death for each murder conviction in the case.

‘Baseline Killer’ Sentenced to Death in Arizona is a post from: The Inquisitr

Two men and four women were killed in an early morning bus crash in Arizona today.

The rollover crash involved the tour bus, two semi trucks and and “several” cars. The accident occurred at 5:27 A.M. local time on Interstate 10 south of Phoenix, when the bus is said to have rear-ended a pickup truck. Several passengers were thrown from the bus during the collision, and two 11-year-olds are among the fifteen injured riders taken to area hospitals. The rollover is said to have precipitated at least one additional crash, with a truck and a sedan colliding in the aftermath. Passengers in those vehicles are expected to survive.

The bus began its trip in Mexico, and was headed to Phoenix to switch drivers at the time of the crash. The bus is owned and operated by Tierra Santa Tours of Durango, Mexico. While 21 people were removed from the bus, some reports indicate a 22nd person may have been trapped beneath the bus.

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6 killed in Arizona bus crash is a post from: The Inquisitr

Tony Arambula is suing the police department in Phoenix, AZ for nearly $5.8m after an officer accidentally shot him, twice.

Officer Brian Lilly fired a total of four rounds at Arambula while responding to reports of an intruder in the Arambula home. The Phoenix PD released a statement yesterday acknowledging the mishap on September 17th of last year:

“…after entering the residence, one of the officers mistakenly shot the armed home owner.”

The press release goes on to say that the “department has been honest and forthright from the very onset of this incident. No attempt has been made to conceal the truth or the facts surrounding it.”

On the night of the shooting, Arambula and his wife say that they placed a 911 call, reporting that Arambula had cornered the intruder and was holding him at gunpoint. When officers arrived, his wife Lesley described the situation as such. Police entered and announced themselves, and Arambula was immediately shot in the back by Lilly. When he fell, he was shot at three more times and hit once again, in the arm. Lilly admitted to firing without warning.

Arambula says that he did everything he was supposed to in the situation:

“I would have loved if they would have told me to get on the floor and drop to my knees,” Arambula said. “To not have given me any opportunity to not get shot, it’s confusing. I pray that this never happens to another family.”

Arambula family sues after cop shoots homeowner, not intruder is a post from: The Inquisitr

The BIOS was demonstrated at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco last week. Phoenix calls their new BIOS “Instant Boot BIOS” and it works by starting all units (components) at once.

A traditional BIOS starts the components one at a time, which means Windows won’t load before that process is complete. That usually takes from 10 seconds and up. The video below shows the “Instant Boot BIOS” installed on a Lenovo T400S laptop. The machine is equipped with a Solid State Disk and a “clean” Windows 7 installation.

The new BIOS will also improve wake-up time after hibernation. Hopefully we’ll see this in PCs in no time.

Boot Windows 7 in just 10 seconds is a post from: The Inquisitr

When Phoenix first started laying out plans for their modern light rail system they were only projecting some 25,000 weekly riders. It turns out that since they opened up a 20 mile line with 28 stops last December they’ve been seeing a ridership of 40,000 per week instead. this ridership is beating all the forecasts which would seem to indicate that there is more of a desire for public light rail transportation than previously thought.

The current rail line (the dark purple in the graphic – courtesy of Treehugger) actually goes through 3 cities: Phoenix, Mesa, and Tempe. The dotted purple line is the North-West extension that is scheduled to open sometime on 2012, as well one extension planned might include Glendale as well.

Here is a short video courtesy of StreetFilms highlighting the light rail system. You might also note that they have included bike racks on the cars in order to encourage multiple forms of travel as well.

Could Phoenix show a bigger desire for public rail than we think? is a post from: The Inquisitr