Tempe Police report outlines allegations against Fountain Hills Councilmember Allen Skillicorn

By Bob Burns
Mail

Update:  A statement from Councilman Allen Skillicorn was provided after initial press time and has been added to the article.

A Tempe Police Department report obtained by the Times Independent through a public records request outlines allegations against Fountain Hills Town Councilmember Allen Skillicorn related to a hit-and-run collision in Tempe March 4.

Skillicorn has been charged with failure to remain at the scene of the collision and failure to provide information, both are class 1 misdemeanors.

According to the police report, Skillicorn is alleged to have been the driver of a Suzuki Grand Vitara involved in a collision just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, on University Drive east of McClintock Drive.

The second driver, identified in the police report as Dylan Sharer, remained at the scene and told the police officer they pulled into a nearby parking lot, and he was provided with a telephone number as contact information. He said the other driver did not want police involved and he left the scene. Sharer said it took four attempts to get the damaged Suzuki started before driving off.

Sharer told police that prior to their arrival he received a digital copy of a driver license belonging to Skillicorn. The officer reported the photo on the driver license matched a photo of the driver who left the scene that was taken by Sharer.

“I attempted to call Skillicorn approximately five times and left him a voicemail telling him to return to the scene,” the officer wrote in his report. “Skillicorn did not answer the phone or return to the scene.”

The report added, “based on the difficutlity it took for Skillicorn to start the vehicle, the short distance he drove away, and the fact he fled the vehicle on foot after he parked it, it is believed that he did not intend at any point to have police contact.”

According to the report, Sharer’s parents arrived at the scene and his father began searching the neighborhood and was able to locate a Suzuki matching the hit and run vehicle in a nearby parking lot that showed consistent damage. He also located video from a nearby building that showed a man leaving the vehicle and walking out of camera range.

The license plate on the hit and run vehicle showed it is registered to SURUS LLC, a Payson based company registered with the Arizona Corporation Commission by Skillicorn.

Police reported there was a “large amount of political signs and fliers inside the vehicle, all of which were related to Allen Skillicorn.”

Sharer’s father also provided authorities with a post from Skillicorn’s Twitter/X account related to a “beer fest event that was taking place in Tempe on the same day the collision occurred” and references that as potential reasoning for a lack of contact.

The report states the time of the call was 4:57 p.m., and the police officer reported he was dispatched at 5:06 p.m. Skillicorn was present for roll call at the town council meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m. that day. Skillicorn was also scheduled to attend a council subcommittee meeting at 3:30 p.m. that day, however, according to town staff records he did not attend that meeting.

When asked for comment, Skillicorn provided the following statement:

"After dozens of articles, I have found the Fountain Hills Times is more interested in bombastic headlines not the truth. I will correct the record with other more fair and balanced outlets."

A pre-trial hearing for this case is scheduled for July 3.

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