9 March 5th-March 11th, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | Asked if the entries were for the same individual, APAAC responded via email, stating that the council “serves solely as a central repository for the database” and that it simply “receives the names and adds them to the list.” It noted that “anything beyond that is outside the purview of the office.” After leaving the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, Mueller did work for a few months each at the Globe and Miami cop shops — in 2018 and 2019 — during which time he reportedly shot a man fleeing a traffic stop. Mueller also worked for about three years for the Superior Police Department, once known as “the island of misfit toys” for its tendency to hire “officers with extensive misconduct records,” according to an ABC15 report from 2020. While in Superior in 2016, Mueller was part of a squad of four officers who used an invalid warrant to gain entry to the home of Richard Manriquez, an unarmed, disabled man in his mid-50s. The officers promptly used a Taser and beat the man so badly that they had to call an ambulance to tend to his wounds. Somehow, all four cops failed to turn on their body-worn cameras to record Manriquez’s unearned ass-kicking, but photos of Manriquez’s pulpy, brutalized face were included as part of the inevitable 2018 lawsuit against the city of Superior. The parties settled in 2023, according to court records, with the terms undisclosed. Still, Mueller failed upwards — sort of. From 2020 to 2024, he was employed as the chief of police (no, really) for the tiny Pinal County town of Mammoth, which report- edly has a total of five officers to serve a population of about 1,200. Interestingly, Miller previously served as Mammoth’s city attorney, but sources told New Times that the Mueller-Miller affiliation precedes their sojourn in Mammoth. One of Miller’s first acts as county attorney was to hire Mueller at a starting salary of $93,000 a year. New Times repeatedly reached out for comment to Miller, Mueller and to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office in general, but has yet to receive a reply. Pants on fire Of the eight investigators employed by the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, Mueller is the only one listed in the APAAC database of Brady-listed cops. Which is not a good thing for Mueller or those who work for him. Having a chief of investigations on the Brady list could be “very, very problematic,” former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley told New Times. Being Brady-listed opens avenues for defense attorneys to impeach a cop’s credibility — and the reli- ability of their police work — in court. If Mueller has supervisory authority over the office’s investigations and if he reviews investigators’ reports, his credibility issues “potentially taint the other investigators,” Romley said. “I think it inherently could complicate any investigation in which the investigators are involved with the county attorney’s office,” Romley said. “No question.” Volkmer said he was familiar with Mueller from his tenure as the Mammoth police chief. He liked Mueller, he added, but he found it “a surprising hire” for Miller. Investigator jobs were considered to be “prestigious,” Volkmer said, and he always wanted to hire the “cream of the crop.” Given Mueller’s background, he would hardly seem to be that. “I had my pick of the litter as county attorney for investigators when we had openings,” Volkmer said. “And this isn’t for my chief, this is just anywhere. When we had openings, I could get anybody I wanted.” Volkmer’s former chief of staff, Garland Shreves, told New Times that investigators still with the county attorney’s office have told him they’re “unhappy” that Mueller is their supervisor. Though they see Mueller as “a decent guy who’s on the Brady list,” his past doesn’t dovetail with their sense of propriety “when their entire careers and values are about honesty.” Shreves pointed out that Mueller was not Miller’s only questionable hire: Miller’s choice to replace Shreves was the hapless Jeremiah Brosowske. New Times previously reported on Brosowske’s tattered backstory, which includes being kicked off the city council of Hesperia, California, for not meeting residency requirements. “Why would you only be able to find people with questionable backgrounds?” Shreves asked. “Why is that?” One source with insider’s knowledge of the county attorney’s office — who asked not to be identified — observed that Miller’s penchant for birds with broken wings speaks to a “Trumpian” need for slavish devotion. “Somebody that’s got a track record of being a problem or is not going to get into that place otherwise, if you hire that person, if you give them a break, it comes with a lot of loyalty to you,” the source said. Mueller will do “whatever Miller wants, without question,” the source added. Then again, Miller may just want someone who plays as fast and loose with the rules as he apparently does. Earlier this year, Miller lied to New Times about him and his staff using the encrypted app Signal to evade public records laws. Miller ultimately fessed up to the practice, and tried to downplay its seriousness, in an interview with the Arizona Republic. The all-Republican Pinal County Board of Supervisors recently referred that issue — along with several others, such as Tainted Resume from p 6 >> p 10 Pinal County Attorney Brad Miller (left) speaks at a press conference. His top investigator, Richard Mueller, stands on the right. (Pinal County Attorney’s Office)
