http://prescottdailycourier.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=41858&TM=25437.06
11/14/2006 4:00:00 AM
PRESCOTT -- Prescott police on Sunday arrested three men and a juvenile, all Mexican nationals, on suspicion of rioting charges stemming from the Oct. 28 stabbing death of Prescott resident Daniel Cook.
Cook, 22, died at the Yavapai Regional Medical Center from a stab wound to his chest he received during the clash with a group of Hispanic men at a hotel's parking lot on Gurley Street.
Cook's brother, Lance, 24, received a knife cut to his arm. The fight concluded with the Hispanics leaving on foot and since then police have been trying to identify not only the suspect, but also the witnesses.
Sgt. Ken Morley said the department is not releasing the names of the arrested individuals because the suspect is still at large. However, the police believe that they now know who the suspect is, Morley said.
Sunday's arrests came as a result of Det. Jason Small's ability to stay alert and observant even during off-duty days.
Morley said Small was running an errand in town when he saw a vehicle he and Det. Mark McClain had been looking for since the incident.
Small notified patrol officers, who stopped the vehicle with five occupants. The officers took them to the station for interviews that culminated in criminal charges for four of them.
"It is a big break in this whole thing," Morley said.
He said the four men, who have no immigration documents, participated in the brawl with the Cook brothers.
Cook's eight-months pregnant girlfriend was sitting in the car during the fight. McClain said it all happened rather quickly.
After the stabbing, Cook went to the room of a friend and collapsed there.
Debbie Manos said his words to her were, "I've been stabbed. Please don't let me die."
Cook died shortly after his arrival to the hospital.
"From witnesses' accounts there were between six and a dozen people there," McClain said previously. "And only one of those people killed Daniel Cook."
Contact the reporter at mburic@prescottaz.com
None of these actions are going to work if we don't get rid of the "anchor baby" law.