Woman arrested after flipping bird at officer

By Greg Jones, staff writer
Published on Monday, June 14, 2004 3:58 PM MST

An obscene gesture directed towards an officer in an unmarked vehicle led to a Safford woman being arrested on drug charges Friday, June 4.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) officer arrested Barbara A. Hill, 21, on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, transportation of marijuana for sale, possession of a dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The arresting officer, DPS officer Lance Shupe, said he was getting ready to go home when the incident occurred.

"It's hilarious," Shupe said. "It was about 3:30. I was trying to go home. They totally brought it on themselves. I wasn't even looking for them."

The officer was driving west on Hwy. 70 from the San Jose area when he encountered the vehicle Hill was driving. He said he tried to pass the vehicle, but Hill would not let him.

"Then, when I passed her, then they decided to get right on me, and when I was turning into my office they honked the horn and gave me the one-finger salute," Shupe said.

The officer made contact with Hill after she pulled her vehicle into the parking lot of the Circle K east of Safford, near the DPS office.

He said he smelled burned marijuana and conducted a search of the vehicle. He reportedly found three ounces of marijuana -- some packaged for sale -- a small quantity of methamphetamine and packing material for the meth and pipes.

Shupe said the only thing Hill said about the incident was that she was unaware he was an officer.

"So it's OK to do it to the public, but if you're a police officer, sorry," Shupe said, laughing.

Other passengers in the vehicle with Hill were not arrested.

Because her license was suspended prior to this incident, it is possible she may face an additional charge of driving on a suspended license

Hill had her license suspended June 3, after being found guilty on charges of failure to provide proof of financial responsibility and speed greater than reasonable or prudent, from an incident on March 28.

Hill is also supposed to begin making payments June 28 for charges stemming from a March 8 incident, when she was charged with reckless driving, speed greater than reasonable or prudent, failure to provide proof of financial responsibility and failure to use her turn signal. She was found guilty on the charges, fined $385 and placed on unsupervised probation for one year.

Hill is also paying off the $475 fine she received June 12, 2003, for a May 1, 2003, failure to provide proof of financial responsibility citation.

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Comments

9 comment(s)

CJ BELL wrote on Oct 23, 2009 8:36 PM:

" if you want to know the truth just ask me. yes i went to R.R.M.C. in 2007. i am 16 now and i remember every detail that happened there. yes i am sure that some of your claims are true no doubt but the thing is that i had the best month of my life at that camp and i would not trade it for anything. if anything this camp trained me to be mentally and physicaly prepared for my future life and i greatly thank Jeremy for that. PLEASE contact me if you have any questions about camp! "

shawn wrote on Oct 5, 2008 2:49 PM:

" trust me if you want your kid to be scared for life send him or if you dont love him denton is a lying sicopatick crazy guy who the military screwed up "

marley wrote on Sep 9, 2008 9:11 AM:

" WHAT ARE U GUYS TALKING ABOUT WERE TALKIN ABOUT MORENCI MINE COMPANY AND U GUYS ARE TALKING ABOUT SOME CAMP YOU SENT UR KIDS TO OR WENT TO? "

concerned parent wrote on Aug 29, 2008 9:28 PM:

" If you really want to get mad about Denton's dishonesty, take a look at his website touting his honesty:
http://www.jeremynegotiates.com/contact.php and how he cuts down other real estate agents in the "shame" page. Maybe complaints to AZ Dept Real Estate would help. "

Louis Womack wrote on Jun 26, 2008 12:21 PM:

" Same here. Our son was to attend on June 21, 2008. Camp cancelled and we are out $2900.00. If you have any info or suggestions pleae contact us. Mr. Denton is employed at Signature Realy Group in Tempe. I did make contact with him there. No luck or even a promise of when we would see a refund. This was a planned rip-off. IMHO "

shawn wrote on Jun 10, 2008 8:48 PM:

" I actually went to this camp and I can tell you one thing most of the counselors were Indians plus we had one that was crazy and got kicked out of the army we also had a guy who shot a kid with a paintball gun without a mask in the head and they all did drugs at night you could smell it and it wasn't the legal kind and everything they promise was a lie hey a kid almost drowned with the storm and another almost bitten by a rattle snake. if you want to know more shawn-007@hotmail.com "

Steve Harrop wrote on Jun 10, 2008 12:26 PM:

" My son was signed up to attend the Aug. 2007 session and one week before camp it was washed out. In Sept. 07 we were told by J. Denton we would get a refund of $3800 within 90 days. No contact since then. As we live in Washington state we don't have any means of getting our money returned. How many other families are in this situation? Is there anything else we can do?

Steve Harrop
Winthrop, WA "

Robyn Pomonis wrote on May 7, 2008 10:31 AM:

" I too am still waiting for a refund of $3800.00. After months of not hearing from them via phone or email, Jeremy Denton called me in November and promised me a refund "by the end of the year". I haven't heard a word from them since, nor have they responded to certified letters nor contact by the BBB. "

Elissa S. Stewart wrote on Nov 28, 2007 2:38 PM:

" My son was supposed to attend the cancelled Operation Noble Eagle on July 29, 2007. I am still waiting for a refund of the $3800 I paid in tuition on November 28, 2007. Jeremy Denton will not commit to a refund date, although he originally assured me I would have one within 90 days. I can provide copies of the emails I have sent and received trying to obtain a refund, and proof of the $3800 I paid ($500 on my credit card for a deposit, and $3300 in the form of a check). "

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