Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Lisa Vandever was arrested and booked into the jail for assault.
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A drunken family squabble ended with a woman going to jail and her brother given a citation for assault.
On Dec. 6, Harrison Vandever arrived at the Safford Police Department with his mother at about 1:30 p.m. to issue a complaint about his sister, Lisa Vandever, who he said struck him in his face twice, which opened stitches from a previous injury. The officer noted Harrison had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from himself.
Harrison said he was arguing with Lisa over a speaker and that Lisa accused him of taking it when he did not. He also advised that Lisa was intoxicated and was coming down off meth when the incident occurred at a homeless camp north of U.S. Highway 70.
Harrison’s mother advised that she drove up to the camp and saw Lisa hit Harrison twice in his face. As they got into the car to leave, she said Lisa started hitting her window and then jumped onto the car. The mother said Lisa then fell off the car and hit her face.
The officer located Lisa behind a local business and placed her under arrest.
The officer noted that Lisa appeared very intoxicated and was upset and crying. She allegedly said that Harrison had thrown her to the ground and that her mother tried to run her over with her car. She said a witness that was at the scene of the incident would back her version of what happened.
While transporting Lisa to the jail, the officer noticed her reported witness at Firth Park. Upon questioning, the witness said Harrison and Lisa were arguing and were both drunk. He said Lisa struck Harrison twice in his face where he was already injured and Harrison responded by grabbing Lisa and throwing her on the ground. The witness also said he didn’t think Harrison had to throw Lisa on the ground as hard as he did.
Lisa was then transported to the jail, where she was surprised they booked her because she believed she was too intoxicated for the jail. However, the officer advised that she was under the jail’s policy limit and she was booked into the jail for assault.
After speaking to another witness who corroborated Harrison’s and his mother’s side of events as well as what the other witness said about Harrison throwing Lisa to the ground, the officer interviewed Harrison again and asked him about his action.
Harrison allegedly admitted to throwing Lisa to the ground but said he did so only to stop her from hitting him and didn’t know what else to do.
The officer then gave Harrison a citation for assault and forwarded the report to prosecutors for review and charging.
