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ByJacquesBilleaudand Alan Clendenning The Associated Press PHOENIX He is a lanky Hispanic man in his 20s who drives down the dark- ened streets of poor, pre- dominantly Latino neigh- borhoods, blending in as he selects his targets. He either fires through an open win- dow or gets out of the car to shoot from close range be- fore driving off. The Serial Street Shooter, as he has been dubbed, has killed seven people and wounded two since March in nine attacks that have sown fear in Phoenix and led to a police plea for the public's help in a neighbor- hood where many are im- migrants reluctant to come forward for fear of depor- tation. The gunman strikes only after sunset and before dawn, and all but one of the killings have taken place in the city's Maryvale section. The victims include a 12-year-girl who was shot to death along with her mother and a friend of the woman. In the most recent attack, on July 11, a man and a 4-year-old boy es- caped injury after the gun- man shot at a vehicle they were sitting in. Investigators are check- ing hundreds of leads, try- ing to find out if neighbors or security cameras cap- tured video footage of the killer. They have put un- dercover officers on extra patrols and are receiving help from the FBI. And they are hoping someone who knows the shooter comes forward. "He has someone he has talked to about this," Phoe- nix police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said. "This guy shot and killed a 12-year-old girl. We hope someone else's conscience catches up with them." Experts on serial killers say that given the gunman's brazen outdoor attacks, he will make a mistake sooner or later — if he hasn't done so already. Unlike other serial kill- ers, who often stay in the shadows, this one has al- lowed witnesses to catch glimpses of him, enabling police to create a sketch they have circulated. Detec- tives also found shell cas- ings at four crime scenes, though authorities will not say what ballistics revealed about the gun or guns used. While Maryvale has a higher crime rate than many other Phoenix neigh- borhoods, police statistics show it has been getting safer in the past decade. But now some residents are staying inside after dark, abandoning a neigh- borhood custom of sitting out on chairs in front yards when the broiling summer heat dips below 100. Taking a break from painting the ranch-style home he is renovating, con- struction worker Marco Garcia said that he is watch- ing for suspicious activity, but that the man police are looking for — young and Hispanic — wouldn't stand out in Maryvale. The cars the killer has used — described by wit- nesses as a late-1990s brown Nissan, a late-1990s black BMW and a white Ca- dillac or Lincoln — are like the vehicles many Maryvale drivers own, Garcia said. "Anyone who passes by here could be him," he said. Authorities have been tight-lipped about the evi- dence they have, but DNA from the gunman would be almost impossible to re- cover from the crime scenes unless the shooter touched one of the victims or left behind an object, said Jack Levin, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston. The first shooting hap- pened on March 17, when the Nissan drove past three teenagers in Maryvale and pulled a U-turn. A police report said the driver was wearing a hat and fired a handgun, hitting a 16-year- old boy in the arm, abdo- men and hip. He survived and described what he saw. Diego Verdugo-Sanchez, 21, became the killer's first fatal victim on April 1, when he left his girlfriend's moth- er's home to lock his sport utility vehicle. He was hit three times in the torso and twice in the chest. One witness claimed to have seen a person in the back seat of a car that left after the killing, leading po- lice to warn that the shooter may have an accomplice. Verdugo-Sanchez had a burglary conviction, and according to a police re- port, had used drugs in the past, giving rise to suspi- cions he was targeted be- cause he had gotten mixed up in criminal activity, but police dismissed that pos- sibility. The deadliest attack came June 12 when the sus- pect stopped his vehicle, got out and shot dead Angela Rochelle Liner, Stefanie El- lis, and Ellis' 12-year-old daughter Maleah as they sat in a parked car listen- ing to music in front of a house. Liner had $2,900 with her but the suspect didn't take it. The serial killings are happening a decade after Phoenix was terrorized by the 2005-06 random shoot- ing deaths of six people, with 19 more wounded. That case was solved when a drinking buddy of the two killers informed on them. PHOENIX Neighborhood on edge as serial killer prowls MATTYORK—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Neighborhood patrol officers Maribel Diaz Lopez, le , and Mario Ocampo walk Maryvale neighborhood streets in Phoenix to hand out an artist rendering of a suspected serial killer, as shown on the light pole. By Ann Sanner The Associated Press COLUMBUS, OHIO A fed- eral judge blocked a state law aimed at divert- ing public money from Planned Parenthood, say- ing in a Friday ruling that the group stood to suffer "irreparable injury." The Ohio law targets the more than $1.4 million in funding that Planned Par- enthood gets through the state's health department. That money, mostly from the federal government, supports certain educa- tion and prevention pro- grams. The law would bar such funds from going to entities that perform or promote abortions. The restrictions, which had been slated to take ef- fect in May, were signed by Republican Gov. John Ka- sich during his failed pres- idential bid. The state's Republican attorney general will ap- peal the ruling, his spokes- man said. Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio and Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio Region had sued the state, saying the law vio- lated their constitutional rights by denying them the funds "in retaliation for" providing abortions. Their lawsuit names the state's health director as a defendant. U.S. District Judge Mi- chael Barrett in Cincinnati sided with Planned Par- enthood in granting a per- manent injunction, which keepsstateofficialsfromen- forcing the law's provisions. Barrett, who was nomi- nated to the bench by then- President George W. Bush, a Republican, said in many instances Planned Par- enthood was chosen over other entities to receive the funds as part of a competi- tive grant process. He said if the changes were to take effect the group couldn't of- fer some free services and would no longer have ac- cess to the juvenile justice and foster care systems to teach teenagers about healthy relationships. If not blocked, the judge wrote, Planned Parent- hood would "suffer a con- tinuing irreparable injury for which there is no ade- quate remedy at law." The state's attorneys had argued that Planned Parenthood was trying to override state policy choices and that no entity has a constitutional right to receive public money. "Planned Parenthood supplies no basis for dis- turbing Ohio's legislative judgments about how to spend its public money," attorneys wrote in a court brief. Planned Parenthood has said Ohio's law would not force any of its 28 health centers in the state to close but the legislation would deprive thousands of pa- tients of access to HIV tests, breast and cervi- cal cancer screenings and other prevention and edu- cation initiatives. The group's attorneys argued the law was un- constitutional because it required, as a condi- tion of receiving govern- ment funds, that recipi- ents abandon their consti- tutionally protected rights to free speech and to pro- vide abortion services. PlannedParenthoodoffi- cials praised the judge's de- cision, calling it a win for Ohio residents who rely on the organization for care. "Politicians have no business blocking patients from the care they need — and today the court stopped them in their tracks," said Iris Harvey, the head of Planned Par- enthood of Greater Ohio. PUBLIC MONEY Judge blocks Ohio law to divert Planned Parenthood money REDBLUFFTEHAMACOUNTY LocalBusinessCustomerAppreciationMonth: August 1-31, 2016 "Thank you, "Thank you, Tehama County!" Tehama County!" Brookdale Assisted Living Colusa Casino Holbrooks Furniture Clearance Center Red Bluff Dodge Tehama Estates North State Nerve and Spine Institute DAILY NEWS Always remember: WHEN YOU SHOP LOCALLY: 1. You save time and gas! 2. You support local employment! 3. You support City and County services! Including ads from the following: ♥ We LOVE Tehama County Shoppers! AugustisCustomer Appreciation Month | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2016 6 B