PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. — A California resident was recently arrested in Arizona after the driver was allegedly caught with thousands of suspected fentanyl pills.
The Prescott Valley Police Department said 30-year-old Bibianna Hinesley was arrested after officers allegedly found a large amount of narcotics in the driver's car Tuesday night.
Hinesly was pulled over in the area of Navajo Drive and Florentine Road before the suspect was later booked into the Yavapai County jail.
In 2023, more than 40 million fentanyl pills and over 380 pounds of fentanyl powder were seized by law enforcement officials in Arizona, according to the Phoenix division of the Drug Enforcement Administration. The federal agency said it set a record last year with the amount of fentanyl seized within a single year.
UP TO SPEED
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
