The central building of the Maricopa County Superior Court was evacuated today during testimony by Serial Shooter suspect Samuel Dieteman. Photo by Nick R. Martin
The evacuation of the court building turned out to be a false alarm. Here’s what court spokeswoman Karen Arra sent me in an email earlier: “At approximately 11:30 a.m. this morning, a fire alarm was activated in the CCB (central court building). The building was evacuated. It appears to be a sensor in the alarm system.”
That means defense attorney Ken Everett’s questioning of star witness Samuel Dieteman will continue into this afternoon, throwing a kink into his prediction that he would finish by noon.
Judge’s take
Judge Roland Steinle just quipped about the faulty alarm system: “When you work in the building built by the lowest-bidding contractor, you shake your head and just say, ‘Oh well.'”