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Homicide Shooting

Woman Missing After Complex Shooting

 

Shootings rarely end well. Someone is hurt or killed and the suspect usually flees. Shooting cases can sometimes go unsolved for quite a while.

A lot of shooting cases become homicides pretty quickly. A homicide is when someone deliberately and unlawfully kills someone. Which makes it easy to understand why a shooting turns into a homicide. Usually you aren’t shooting at someone to do them any good. A shooting is to harm someone.

The Phoenix Police Department is now looking for a woman who can not be found. They’re searching for her because a man was shot and killed at an apartment complex.

According to the reports, a one year old child as well as a woman, Veronica Huerta Brown were not found after a man was killed on a Saturday night. The man was shot at an apartment complex, which is located near the 12th Street and Indian School Road.

The investigators said that the child and Brown were in a vehicle with the victim when the victim was then ordered out of the vehicle by two men. According to the police, the men shot the victim and then took the child from him.

At this time, it’s unclear if the woman and child were abducted by the suspects or whether they fled the scene separately.

The Phoenix Police gave an update about the situation on Sunday morning. They say that the child was luckily found safely however, Brown had not been found at this time. They are worried about Brown’s safety and are searching for her.

Police spokesman, James Holmes Statement:

We believe that all three, the victim, Veronica and (the child), arrived at this apartment complex, just before the shooting, together in a vehicle.

Holmes gave a description of the shooters, saying that they were described as Hispanic men. The men seemed to be at the apartment complex and they ordered the victim to get out of the car with the child.

Holmes’ Statement:

At that point, the suspect grabbed the child and fired on the victim and took the child and he left.

There were witnesses at the scene and they told the Phoenix Police that they had hear at least four gunshots.

Neighbor, Jennalee Yazzie’s Statement:

It was like, ‘Pom pom,’ and then, ‘Pom pom,’.

 

The police have no definite answers on whether the woman and the child were abducted by the suspects or if they actually fled the scene separately.

Holmes’ Statement:

We believe that all three, the victim, Veronica and (the child), arrived at this apartment complex, just before the shooting, together in a vehicle.

Holmes also said that the two shooters were already at the apartment complex and then ordered the victim to get out of the car with the child.

Holmes said that at that point of the situation, the suspect quickly grabbed the child and fired on the victim. He then took the child and left.

Neighbor, Bryan Cunningham’s Statement:

He said it was a very small white hatchback, is what he saw. And [the car] was moving quite fast, getting right out of there after the shots and the screams.

 

The witnesses also told the police that there were at least two male suspects that got away from the complex. They were in a 90’s model vehicle that is either a white Honda or could be a white Taurus.

At this time, it’s not clear what relationship the victim had with the two suspects or with the missing Brown woman, who police are still searching for. Police also don’t know what the relation was to the woman and child with the suspects or if there was one at all.

Holmes Statement:

We have to consider that both this female and this child, based on the violence that occurred here this afternoon, could very well be in danger.

 

Police are now looking for the 90’s model vehicle that fled the scene. The incident happened in the back parking lot of an apartment complex.

If anyone has any information at all as to where Brown may be, they are encouraged to please call the Phoenix Police Violent Crimes Bureau at (602) 262-6141. Of course, as always calls can remain anonymous.

 

Drive-By Shooting in Phoenix

A drive by shooting that happened on the outside of a Phoenix bar could have been pretty devastating. The police are still looking for answers regarding this case.

According to the news reports, there was a light colored Jeep that was seen outside of the Charley’s Place Bar at the 43rd Avenue and Thunderbird Road which happened after three o’clock in the morning on August 18, 2015.

According to a report there was an person in a Jeep SUV who reportedly fired several rifle rounds into the bar. Luckily, no one was injured during the shooting.

Silent Witness is offering a reward for any information that may be helpful in this unsolved case. They are offering $1,000.00.

If you have any information on this case, please contact the Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS.

 

Hopefully the shootings in Phoenix slow down and end in less fatalities like this drive by bar shooting. Shootings are scary but it’s a little less scary when no one is hurt. Which is rare in a shooting, especially in a drive by shooting.

 

 

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668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
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Phoenix Shootings

Hells Angels Affiliated Men Shot in Phoenix

 

“Hells Angels” have been known to be a pretty rough and rowdy motorcycle gang. Their name has been and probably still is, feared and loved throughout the United States. On Saturday two men who were affiliated with the “Hells Angels” motorcycle gang were shot as they were riding their motorcycles in North Phoenix.

 

Judy Jones’ Statement:

It’s just really gotten bad in this neighborhood lately.  It’s really, really crazy.

 

Judy just happened to work at a nearby restaurant, The Codfather restaurant. The restaurant is very close to where the police says that two bikers were shot near 16th Street and Bell Road.

 

Phoenix Police Officer, James Holmes’ Statement:

When the officers get there what they find is six motorcyclists.

 

Officer Holmes said that the bikers were travelling westbound on Bell Road when someone then opened fired at the motorcycle riders. Officer Holmes also says that bikers had to be in motion at the time that they were shot. They were not stopped at a light when the two men were shot.

 

The shooter did their job or what they intended to do, one of the men was in very serious condition and the other one was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. The one who was severely injured was transported to a local hospital and luckily expected to survive, according to officer Holmes.

 

The police know that the motorcycle riders aka bikers were not just any typical Saturday evening ride bikers. Officer Holmes said that all of the bikers had the “Hells Angels” insignia jackets as well as other things that indicated they were part of the “Hells Angels” club. Which causes concern for the investigators.

 

Judy also claimed to see “Hells Angels” bikers before in the area.

 

Judy’s Statement about the “Hells Angels”

I mean, you see, like on a Sunday morning, they’re riding down towards the 17.

 

Even though the police were taking a cautious investigation into the incident, they did not believe that the shooting was gang related.

 

Officer Holmes’ Statement about the Incident

 

At this point we’ve not made any kind of a connection between them being members of the club and this shooting.  Right now it’s either a random act of gunfire or they were targeted for a specific reason that we’ve not identified yet.

 

The police was also able to look at a surveillance video to hopefully find out if there was one or more shooters involved. Also if the person or possibly people responsible for the shooting had another vehicle or were maybe standing nearby the shooting scene.

 

Judy has decided to be more cautious in the future, saying “You just have to be careful, everything you do,”.

 

 

Another, More Recent Shooting in the Phoenix Area

 

In April, a shooting involving officers happened in Phoenix. One Saturday in April a shooting on 20th Street and Thomas Road ended badly for a suspect after a shooting involving the police officers.

 

According to Phoenix Police Sgt. Jonathan Howard, 911 dispatchers had received a call from a man and stated that there were several “snipers pointing rifles” at him. Of course several officers were sent to the scene. However, before they even had a chance to contact the man he had opened fire on the officers. According to the report, the man was sitting in a white van at the time of the shooting. Officers had no choice but to return fire on the man. They did not miss their target.

 

One officer had been reportedly shot in his arm. The officer was of course treated for his gunshot wound and later released from the hospital, Officer Howard stated.

 

Officer Howard did say that the suspect died at the hospital that Saturday night. Later the police was able to identify him as forty-four year old, Erik Lagunas Tellez. The officer who was injured during the shooting name has not been released at this time.

 

 

 

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DNA Evidence Helps Put to Rest a 20 Year Old Murder Case

DNA Final Factor in 20 Year Old Multiple Murder Cases

 

Technology and Science is ever changing. It’s so amazing and a thing of awe what science can do today. Thanks to DNA evidence an arrest has been made against a man who is involved for the killings of two young women twenty years ago. The two women who vanished, ten months apart on bike rides. They were riding near Phoenix’s Canal System.

 

Police were able to arrest forty-two year old, Bryan Patrick Miller on late Tuesday. They got him for the stabbing deaths of two girls, twenty-two year old Angela Brosso and seventeen year old Melanie Bernas.

 

According to the report, Angela was killed in November of 1992. Melanie was killed almost a year later in September 1993. Both of the young women had disappeared while biking near the Arizona Canal. Angela’s body was found decapitated, near an apartment complex. Melanie’s body was found 1.5 miles away just floating in the water.

 

Police Use DNA Evidence to Solve 20 Year Old Case

 

Police said that they were able to use forensic evidence connecting the killings within years. However, the investigators weren’t able to identify a suspect back then. Luckily, some DNA evidence was recently collected by some undercover officers and were able to link Miller to the killings.

 

Sgt. Trent Crump’s Statement:

Within literally hours we had a hit from those two murders, scientifically linking him by DNA, linking him to those two murders over 20 years ago.

 

 

Officers were able to search Miller’s rental home overnight. They expected to be continuing the search for several days due to the home being full of unspecified material. It’s unclear of what though.

 

Miller was being held without bond for: two counts of first degree murder and kidnapping as well as one count of sexual assault. Miller did not have a lawyer when he appeared in court on Wednesday. However, during the police interview, he denied having any involvement in the killings.

 

Police Statement in Court Document:

The defendant could not explain how the DNA profile obtained from the defendant was a match to the DNA profiles obtained from the victims.

 

Even though Miller denied any involvement, he did admit to living in the area of the killings at the time. He even admitted to also riding his bike on the bike paths.

 

Police have stated in the past that these killings were like the killer specialized in military training and he also collected trophies from the victims. Either bike from the killings were never found. However during the search, police did find a bike in Miller’s shed. It’s unclear if it’s one of the victims bikes though.

 

Source:https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/south-phoenix/angela-brosso-melanie-bernas-update-bryan-patrick-miller-denies-involvement-in-death-of-girls

 

 

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Man Pushed Onto Tracks, Struck by Train

Man Pushed Onto Subway Train Track and Killed

 

According to the police a man who was standing on a subway platform with his wife had been pushed onto the tracks Sunday morning. They said it was by another man. The victim was struck and killed by an oncoming train. Whoever pushed the man fled the scene. How horrible would that be? Just enjoying a Sunday with your honey then bam, someone ends it just by a little shove.

 

The police say that the unidentified man pushed the sixty-one year old, Wai Kuen Kwok off of the platform at the Grand Concourse and East 67th Street station. The authorities say that the act appeared to be “unprovoked”. Mr. Kwok was hit by a southbound D train at 8:40 in the morning. He was then pronounced dead at the scene. Police are calling this a homicide. Luckily, his wife wasn’t injured as well.

 

Suspect Had No Known Motive for Pushing Man onto Train Tracks

 

Police say that there was no indication that Kwok knew the suspect or that they had, had an altercation before Mr. Kwok was pushed. Witnesses told the police that they thought the man had fled the subway station after shoving Kwok and jumped onto a City bus.

 

The authorities later released a video surveillance that showed a man wearing a dark jacket. He was getting off of a city bus and walked into a store. The man later comes out of the store and was smoking a cigarette, then walked away. The Police say that the man is wanted for questioning in the connection of Mr. Kwok’s death.

 

Train accidents are common, unfortunately but being pushed onto the tracks for no reason isn’t. Hopefully the police can find the suspect and give the victim’s wife some peace knowing her husband’s killer is caught.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/national/police-man-killed-by-train-was-pushed-onto-tracks

 

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Teenager Shot in West Phoenix

West Phoenix Shooting Ends Deadly for Teenager

 

The Phoenix Police Officials are now investigating a scene after a teenager was sadly shot and killed in the West Phoenix area on Sunday night.

 

Sgt. Steve Martos from the Phoenix Police said that seventeen year old Christopher Garcia as well as four other people were walking northbound around ten o’clock Sunday night. They were walking on 67th Avenue near the Van Buren Street when a truck pulled up beside of them. Sgt. Martos said that there were two armed suspects that got out of the truck. Three people from the walking group quickly ran away from the area, however Garcia and another person stayed with the truck.

 

17 Year Old Teenager Shot

 

Sgt. Martos stated that the seventeen year old was sadly shot and then the suspects drove away. The teenager victim was transported to the local hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. The investigating officials found a burning vehicle later. The vehicle was located near the 32nd Avenue and Coronado Road. The vehicle matched the description of the suspects’ vehicle. The Phoenix Police are working to hopefully see if the vehicle is indeed related to the tragic teenager being shot.

 

At this time there is no definite description of the shooter’s looks. Because of this tragic event that lead to a teenager to being shot, traffic was expected to be delayed that morning so that the Phoenix police could investigate the scene. I can’t imagine what this teenager’s parents and family are going through at this time. Hopefully the investigators are able to make some headway and find some evidence pointing them into the right direction of the person who shot the seventeen year old young man. If anyone knows anything about this shooting, please contact the local Phoenix authorities with the information.

 

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/west-phoenix/pd-17-year-old-shot-killed-in-phoenix

 

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Man Admits to Being High and Drunk When Crashing into Officer

Judge Gives Maximum Sentence To Man Who Crashed into Officer

 

A judge has given the maximum sentence to a young man (twenty four years old) who admitted to being drunk and high at the time he crashed into a Phoenix Police Officer. The police Officer Daryl Raetz was killed by the twenty-four year old last year. After the crash Officer Raetz was taken to the hospital where he sadly died.

 

Jesus Cabrera-Molina has been sentenced to only eight years in prison, as well as seven years of probation for negligent homicide and deadly hit and run. At first Molina pleaded not guilty however he quickly changed his plea to no contest.

 

According to the police report, Officer Raetz was conducting a DUI stop back in May 2013. That is when another vehicle had hit him at about three:thirty in the morning, and then fled towards 51st Avenue and Cambridge. Officer Raetz was only twenty-nine years old. He was also veteran from the Iraq war and had been a Phoenix Police Officer for six years. Molina is an undocumented immigrant.

 

Officer Raetz Wife’s Question to Molina

Why did you do drugs, kill my husband and drive away? No more saying you don’t remember.

 

 

Officer Raetz might be gone, but his wife, Stephanie wants his little girl to remember him as the hero that he was.

Stephanie’s Statement to the Judge

How does a 7-year-old know to ask questions about someone else’s actions? ‘Mom, why did he choose to kill my dad?

The officers on scene said that they heard some very “chilling accounts” of what had happened that night.

Officer Jennifer Moore’s Statement

The gut-wrenching high low tone is a sound that makes every officer stop in their tracks. And their heart skips a beat. There is nothing like a friend getting on the radio and saying ‘officer down. I saw Daryl laying in the middle of the road. He wasn’t moving. As Daryl layed (sic) on the road, it proved to be his final battle. I knew Darryl was dead. So we will make sure that they are great ones for her, by always telling her her dad lived as only a hero could.

Source: https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/jesus-cabrera-molina-sentenced-to-8-years-in-prison-in-death-of-phoenix-police-officer-daryl-raetz

 

 

Criminal Defense Lawyers PLLC

668 N 44th St. Suite 300
Phoenix, AZ 85008
(480) 351-6445
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