WILLIAMS, Ariz. -
The four-term Republican sheriff of Cochise County has died in a one-vehicle crash near the northern Arizona town of Williams. Larry Dever was 60.
His death is a stunning blow for people in his country and throughout Arizona.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s office says Dever was driving on a dirt Forest Service road on the way to meet family members for a camping and hunting trip at White Horse Lake south of Williams when his pickup rolled.
Another driver had been following Dever’s truck Tuesday evening and told deputies he came around a corner and found a cloud of dust. The pickup had rolled but landed on its wheels. Dever was dead at the scene.
Coconino County sheriff’s spokesman Gerry Blair said it’s not clear if Dever was wearing a seat belt, but he was not ejected. There was no sign Dever had been drinking.
Dever is a husband and father of 6, and grandfather to 12. He was known for most recently defending SB 1070, and criticizing the Obama administration for its handling of “Fast and Furious.” He joined other county sheriffs in the fight for more border security.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu told us, “He is not just a long
