Category: Homicide

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Homicide Wrongful Death

Man Charged With Several Charges in Kidnapping 8 Yrs Old Girl

Man Charged With Several Charges in Kidnapping 8 Yrs Old Girl

Man Arrested for Disappearance of 8 Year Old Little Girl

 

A man is in some serious trouble after being previously questioned in the disappearance of an eight year old little girl. The man has now been booked into the Mohave County Jail for the following charges: first-degree murder, kidnapping, as well as shoplifting. That poor little girl.

 

Chief Brian Williamson from the Bullhead City Police, confirmed that twenty-six year old Justin James Rector was indeed taken into custody for the above charges including the death of the eight year old Isabella Grogan-Cannella. The innocent little girl was reported missing last Tuesday. According to the local authorities, on Wednesday Isabella’s lifeless body was found in a shallow grave near her home. Rector was taken into custody on Thursday.

 

Family Friend Murders 8 Year Old Little Girl

 

According to chief Williamson, Rector was a family friend that had been visiting and staying with the family at their home for a few days. Isabella was last seen with Rector at around 11:30 on Monday night. She was seen by her ten year old sister with the boy. Isabella was reported missing around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning.

 

Chief Williamson also said that Rector had went to the local Walmart to shoplift some shoes, underwear, and a shirt to change into. Rector admitted to actually hiding his old outfit along the highway. Rector was first arrested for the shoplifting and then held in the jail so that the investigators could look into Isabella’s disappearance. The detectives were able to find the shoes and shirt, as well as the surveillance video from the store which showed the evidence of Rector shoplifting. Rector had at first told the investigators that he had gone to a friends house after leaving Isabella’s home, however they were unable to confirm that. The investigators did find a set of show prints at the site where Isabella’s body was found. The shoe prints did match Rector’s old shoes.

 

The court documents read that Isabella was found in the same shirt she was wearing when she went missing, however she was found not wearing anything on her lower half. They are going to preform an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Rector didn’t deny killing the 8 year old Isabella, he did say he couldn’t talk about it and wanted an attorney.

 

According to the investigators, they aren’t sure of a motive for the girl’s murder. The investigation is ongoing at this time and police are unsure of future charges or arrests at this time. There were several other people at the house when Isabella disappeared.  Child Protective Services are also involved, but it is unsure what for at this time.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-central-southern-az/other/man-arrested-in-bullhead-city-missing-girl-case

 

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC
668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 351-6445
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Categories
assault Homicide

Phoenix Police Kill 55 Year Old Shooter

Phoenix Police Kill 55 Year Old Shooter

55 Year Old Man Killed By Police For Shooting at Them

 

An older man of fifty-five years old has been killed by the phoenix police. The man was shot by the responding officers after he started shooting at the officers from his front porch. The shooter was armed with five guns.

According to a Phoenix Police Officer, James Holmes, the first shots were fired at around 10:15 on Monday night.

 

Holmes Statement about the Shooting

People living in the area called police saying they were hearing gunshots.

According to Officer Holmes, the officers had hear an additional shot when they approached the intersection of 15th Avenue and Bethany Home Road.  The Phoenix officers then went to the home where they believed that the shots were coming from. However, as they were talking to the homeowner the officers started to get shot at from another direction. The investigating officers quickly took cover and were able to figure out where the shooting was coming from. According to Officer Holmes, the officers saw a man standing on his front porch with a rifle.

Police told the local NEWS that at least dozens of shots were fired. The officers quickly called for back up as the man continued his rifle assault on them. As the man kept shooting the police had a police helicopter come to the scene. However, the helicopter had to land after the man had started to also shoot at the police helicopter.

Officer Holmes’ Statement about the Shooting

In 18 years I can’t remember a time when someone blatantly turned to an aircraft and started shooting at it.

After the police again took cover, the officers shot and killed the fifty-five year old shooter. They shot the man while he was standing on his own back porch. Police are investigating the mans criminal and mental health records to hopefully find out why the man had started shooting at the authorities in the first place.

Holmes’ statement about the Shooter

We have to sort all of this out because it is very very hard for us to fathom that a person without cause it going to be armed to the teeth on his porch and just randomly start shooting at police officers when they show up.

Luckily there were no other people were harmed during the shootout. A couple of the shooter’s bullets did go into some nearby houses but everyone was ok.

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/police-dodge-bullets-after-responding-to-shots-fired-call

 

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC
668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 351-6445
https://www.criminaldefenselawyers.me

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assault battery Homicide Pedestrian Accident Personal Injury Wrongful Death

Man and Woman Arrested for Involvement of Body Found in Canal

Man and Woman Arrested for Involvement of Body Found in Canal

Couple Linked to Found Body in Peoria Canal

 

Talk about the world becoming a violent place. As if murder isn’t bad enough, it seems like it’s becoming more and more popular. More people are joining in on the killing and crime. A man and woman have now been arrested for being linked to a death of man. The man’s body was found in a Peoria Canal. The body was found sometime last week. Seem’s like whatever happened, it was a man and woman couple that had a role in the canal man’s death.

 

Police Link Couple to Found Body in Canal

 

According to a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Detective, they have found some evidence that would link the man and woman to the body they found floating. The man, forty-one year old Nathan Perez and the woman, Forty year old Billian Jean are husband and wife. The body of the floating victim turned out to be thirty-five year old Rolland Tockey.

 

A bicyclist reported finding Mr. Tockey’s body on Wednesday in the Canal. This was August twentieth and was near the 71st Avenue and Greenway Road.  At first the police from the Peoria police department were there to respond to the call, however the investigation was turned over to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).

 

The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office stated that the investigation led the investigating officers to a home which was near 67th and Olive Avenues. From there they found even more evidence, proving that the man and woman were most likely guilty in some part of the Canal man’s death.

 

Nathan Perez is in pretty deep trouble, seems like he’s the main suspect in this case. He is being held on $750,000 bond for “suspicion of first degree murder and concealing a dead body”. His wife, Billie Jean however is no longer in custody, she was released from prison. At first she was arrested as well as booked on charges of ” hindering prosecution”.

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-west-valley/peoria/mcso-husband-wife-arrested-in-murder-of-rolland-tockey-found-in-peoria-canal

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC

668 N 44th St. Suite 300

Phoenix, AZ 85008

(480) 351-6445

https://www.criminaldefenselawyers.me

 

Categories
assault battery felony Homicide Wrongful Death

17 Year Old Shot For Not Joining Gang

17 Year Old Shot For Not Joining Gang

Phoenix Mother Blames Gang for Her Son Being Gunned Down

A Phoenix mother is upset and claimed that her son was “gunned down” for his refusal to join a local gang. Dershawn Stuard was sadly murdered and his cousin was also shot during a baseketball game on last Thursday. The shooting happened at a park near the 106th Avenue and Camelback Road. The police authorities with the Phoenix Police Department identified the shooter suspect as seventeen year old, Jodon Martinez. The police have stated that Jodon Martinez is indeed a documented gang member. He is considered armed and dangerous.

Dershawn’s mother wants everyone to remember her son as a loving, compassionate, funny young father. She recalls a time five years ago, a Phoenix gang had tried to recruit her youngest sons while they were at a park. The young boys were still in elementary school at the time that the gang tried to recruit them. After refusing to join the gang, the boys then became a target for the alleged shooter, Martinez and his family.

Dershawn’s Mother’s Statement:

They chased my kids home with a gun, actually opened fire once.

Apparently the family had tried to escape the gang and the threats by moving around the city four time within the five years. She even moved the kids to a different school in hopes to escape the gang violence. To this day, she still lives in fear. Even though she has filed several police reports, she’s still terrified since her son’s murderer is still on the run. She hopes that she isn’t identified.

Mother’s Statement About Her Fear of the Gang:

We tried to do it right, we tried and tried and tried. And no help, no help. Now that’s the result, I have to bury my son and my grandson has to grow up without a father.

She claims that she will not feel any peace until her son’s shooter is caught and then prosecuted for what he did.

Continued Statement:

He may not be able to walk around freely, but he’s awake, he’s alive, he’s still breathing. I don’t have that anymore, he stole that from my son for no reason.

Police describe Martinez as “Hispanic male who is about 5 ft 7 in. tall and weighs 140 pounds”. If anyone has any information on this suspect, please call (602)262-6141 or the Silent Witness program at (480) WITNESS.

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/phoenix-man-shot-for-refusing-to-join-gang-according-to-victims-mother

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC

668 N 44th St. Suite 300

Phoenix, AZ 85008

(480) 351-6445

https://www.criminaldefenselawyers.me

Categories
assault Homicide Personal Injury Wrongful Death

Man Pleads Guilty for Killing Nephew

Man Pleads Guilty for Killing Nephew

Phoenix Man Guilty of Killing His Nephew

On July 11th a Phoenix man pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder for the death of his nephew. This was in 2012 that he killed his nephew, who was just an infant.

The Maricopa County the prosecutors said that, the guilty-Manuel Antonio Gonzalez plead guilty to the murder on Friday. Manuel is to appear in court to be sentenced on September 5th.

On October 2012 the Phoenix Fire Department crews were called and responded to a drowning call at a home in the area. The crews from the Fire Department reported that they found a twenty-one month old (Xavier Becerra Martinez) hurt. However, his injuries were not consistent with drowning.

The fire crews then called the Phoenix Police department and transported the little boy and Gonzalez to the hospital. The toddler however, sadly later died.

Authorities Investigate the Nephew Drowning

The Police said that the homicide investigators that discovered Mr. Gonzalez was watching his two small children and his nephew, Xavier at the time of the incident.

Gonzalez told the police investigators that Xavier was playing with a water hose and then drowned in the puddle of water.  However, the authorities say that the injuries were more consistent with child abuse instead of a drowning.

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/phoenix-man-pleads-guilty-in-nephews-2012-death

Categories
felony Homicide Personal Injury Wrongful Death

Phoenix Father Arrested for Baby’s Drowning

Phoenix Father Arrested for Baby's Drowning

Phoenix Father Leaves Baby In Bath By Itself

A Phoenix father has recently been arrested on homicide-related allegations for his three month old baby drowned in a bathtub. According to the court records, the father is being held on $180,000 bond.

Phoenix Police and the Fire Crews responded to the home that is located near the 27th Avenue and Van Buren Street on late Tuesday morning. They received a call that a child was not responding after the child was found in the bathtub.

The Young Father was Arrested

The young child’s father was arrested by the investigators by late afternoon. The nineteen year old father, Carlos Humberto Castillo, for the suspicion of second-degree murder as well as child abuse. The investigators made sure to emphasize the father’s “extreme indifference to human life” in the charging documents that was released on Wednesday morning.

The young father told the police that he had left the three month old baby and the other two children that were in the home (ages 1, and 3) in the bathtub with the water running so he could take a nap.

The three month old infant was found floating in the bath tub and had his eyes closed. When Castillo had found the baby he grabbed the baby and tried to get assistance from his girlfriend.

The baby’s grandmother tried to save the baby’s life by administrating CPR until the emergency workers arrived.

The baby was quickly taken to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The father, claimed that he was only asleep for “two minutes” however the records show that his cousin had woke him up because the bathtub had overflowed and had began to flow underneath of the bedroom door.

When the police arrived to the scene, they said that the water was literally flowing out of the front door.

Luckily the other two children were not injured as well. The father is facing charges of child abuse because he left the children in a “dangerous situation”.

Source: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2014/06/11/phoenix-drowning-death-arrest-abrk/10322901/