Sheriff Releases Loughner's Arrest Records

Since 2004, 22-year-old Tucson shooting suspect Jared Loughner has had at least four known run-ins with the Pima County Sheriffs Department, not counting his arrest for the assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Taken alone, Loughner's run-ins with police, including one arrest for marijuana possession and another for being drunk in school after fighting with his dad, seem normal for a slightly rowdy teenager. In context of the horrendous crime he is accused of, they may provide some insight into the deterioration of Loughner's mental state.

Special Section: Tragedy in Tucson

Below are descriptions of arrest reports provided by the Pima County Sheriffs Department involving Loughner and his parents.

On May 27, 1994, Randy Loughner was detained for reckless driving in a "Mint Yellow Camaro. Loughner told (police) he had just had it out for the first time in six months and that he was putting it back into storage in his garage and would not be driving it again for some time."

On Dec. 21, 1996, Loughner's mom, Amy J. Loughner, called to report that her expiration tab was stolen from her license plate.

On Oct. 11, 2002, Randy Loughner called police to report that the passenger window on his 1966 Chevrolet truck had been smashed out while parked in his front yard. Nothing else was wrong with the truck.

On Sept. 23, 2004, Police were called but Loughner declined to press charges against Anthony "Tony" Kurz for stabbing him with a "pin, a stolen type needle," on his upper right arm. Loughner said he did not realize at first he had been "poked." The report goes on to say: "He stated as soon as he figured out that he was poked with a needle, he started to become pale, got dizzy, could not stand and had to be helped to a nurse's office."

The arrest report said there was some bizarre hammering needle device that Kurz claimed to have built from a pen and tried on himself, but was unsuccessful at puncturing his own skin. The report goes on to state: "(Loughner said his parents) do not want to press charges at this time; however they do want Tony tested to see if he has HIV or any other kind of disease."

On May 12, 2006, Loughner was under "Arrest for Consuming Alcohol." Police went to the emergency room at Northwest Hospital after being contacted by the assistant principal at Mountain View High School. There, they were told that Loughner "drank (about) 350 milliliters of Vodka" sometime in the afternoon. The arrest report stated: "(Loughner) advised that he drank because he was very upset as his father yelled at him. I could see his eyes were very red and he was crying and had a strong odor of intoxicants coming from his body and breath." His parents picked him up from the hospital.

On Sept. 9, 2007, Loughner was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and a drug paraphernalia violation after a police officer responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle. After pulling over the van driven by "Bryce Howard Tierney" which Loughner was riding in, "I then smelled a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming off of Mr. Loughner's person," one of the arresting officers said in the report. In the end, police found two glass marijuana pipes with residue, a marijuana roach and packages of Zig-Zag rolling papers. Nothing in the report indicates Loughner was uncooperative.

On Mar. 22, 2008, Loughner's dad, Randy Loughner, called police to complain about rocks being thrown through the back window of his Chevy Nova, which Loughner later drove the morning of the Tucson shooting.

On Oct. 3, 2008, Loughner called police after becoming convinced someone had used his name online against his permission. Loughner said he had Googled his name and it came up on "PeekYou.com." Someone had posted a picture of him with long, curly hair from a few years earlier, as well as a listing "from New York," and a MySpace account which he had not created. Loughner said he contacted YouPeek to do something about this false posting, and YouPeek advised him to contact the police. In the report, the officer writes: "I noted that Jared was slow to respond to my questions. He often hesitated, as if he was trying to think of an explanation."