Residents who were up early this morning spotted a SWAT team moving through Maricopa. Many of you asked us about it.

So, we found out.

Around 7:15 a.m., Chandler Police Department’s SWAT team arrived in Maricopa to serve a search warrant connected to a sex-crimes investigation. But after staging, for reasons that are kept close to the chest, the team decided not to move forward with the operation.

Authorities said that warrant could still be served at a later time.

The investigation comes amid a sharp rise in the city’s sex-offender registry , which has doubled in just two years, far outpacing population growth.

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