Outlaw is a lights-out approved MOA, so it isn't true what that witness says. They don't need their navigational lights on.
There are always a lot of lights over the east valley due to the air traffic coming in that way, combined with the MOA activity.
But that area has a long history of conspiracies, even before the Phoenix lights. The mountain range out there is called The Superstitions because a lot of people have gone missing there. Back in the day the popular speculation was that the victims were captured by Native Americans or killed by mountain lions, but others chose to believe in the supernatural. There's also the Lost Dutchman legend.
These days there is plenty of human activity in the area, so it's not as mysterious. Those mountains offer the best hiking trails around.