Category: Wrongful Death

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Two Different Types of Shooting Cases

Multiple Suspects in Phoenix Homicide Case

Shooting Case Causes Police To Question Teenagers Involved

As if a shooting isn’t bad enough, it’s absolutely tragic when multiple children or teens are involved. This case is a little different than the usual shooting stories that hit the news though.

Police believe that multiple teenagers had to of been in the same room as a shooting that took place. The shooting that left a sixteen year old boy dead on Wednesday night. Let’s just hope that this isn’t some kind of bullying thing. Let’s hope that if there was multiple people that know what happened that they come forward and tell the police what they know. The family of this boy needs justice and peace of knowing what really happened when they sadly last their son.

Sgt. Jonathan Howard from the Phoenix Police Department, was unable to identify the victim on Thursday. However, the police are hoping to identify or narrow down the teens that were in that room when this happened.

The Police believe that these teenagers just ran away after the shooting. Which how sad is that? Did those other teens also fear for their lives? Was this just a prank that went wrong? Why would these kids be scared if they didn’t have something majorly involved in this? Maybe they’re just scared of what will happen?

Police Search for Teenage Shooting Victim’s Murderer

No one has been arrested for this shooting at this time. However, the police are investigating and will continue to do so. They are trying to figure out what caused such a tragic event? The shooting happened at a home near 23rd Street and Cactus Road. Even though authorities tried to save the young man, he was still taken to the hospital, where he sadly died.

If anyone has any information about the shooting or the victim, please contact the Phoenix Police at 602-262-6241 or even the Silent Witness program at 480-Witness.

 

Police Arrest Suspect for Allegedly Shooting Two Men in Glendale

Usually Thursday’s are quiet days. Everyone is wore out from a long week of work, you’re just ready for a relaxing weekend and a good nights sleep or a night out on the town, whatever floats your boat.

Every family has issues with who someone is dating. Most the time it’s the girls that choose horrible boyfriends, don’t get me wrong there are some nice guys out there that choose the absolutely craziest women. When you’re young and you date out of your comfort zone, you never think of them doing something to actually harm someone. However, you real never know these days.

According to the local police, they now have in custody a man that they suspect shot two men outside of a Glendale home on Thursday. The incident happened around three o’clock in the afternoon. According to the Glendale Police, the suspect was twenty-eight year old, Efrain Hartley. He was arrested not long after the shooting happened.

Police Arrest Shooting Suspect

The Glendale police say that twenty-four year old, Shaquille Johnson was outside of a home with his twenty year old brother near 91st and Glendale Avenues. As they were standing outside, Hartley came up to them and started shooting them.

Both of the young men were taken to the local hospital. Police say that Shaquille Johnson later died from his injuries from the shooting. His younger brother is still in critical condition.

According to some witnesses, the victims and the suspect knew each other. Apparently they had a “verbal altercation” that happened just before the shooting.

Apparently Mr. Hartley was dating one of the victims’ sister. Hartley is booked on charges that relate to homicide of Shaquille Johnson and the shooting of a second victim.

 

 

 

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No Shortage of Shooting Cases In Phoenix

Homicide Shooting in Phoenix Area

Search for Man Involved in Phoenix Shooting

The Phoenix Police are on the hunt for a man involved in a shoot. They say that a man is dead after a shooting at a party overnight.

The officers responded to a loud party in the area of the 43rd Avenue and Thomas Road around 3:20 in the early morning. When they got there they heard shots fired inside.

There was a man that fled the home, he had a gunshot wound and later collapsed. The man died not long afterwards, according to the Phoenix Police.

There were multiple people inside of the home and they had to stay for questioning. However, there has been no suspect identified at this time.

The victim has not yet been named.

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Phoenix Shoootings

Phoenix Shoootings

Police Stand Off

Police deal with a lot of crazy situations. Some scary, some don’t end nearly as bad as they think.

On Tuesday morning a man had to be taken into custody after he barricaded himself inside of his home for four hours.

Police say that the standoff began around midnight. It happened close to 14th Street and Missouri Avenue. The police were just simply trying to serve the man a court order and arrest him. The man then barricaded himself inside of his home.

Officers weren’t sure if the man had weapons or not so they called for SWAT to come assist the situation just as a precautionary. The SWAT showed up and were able to get the man to come out of his house just before five o’clock in the morning.

Police Find Man Shot in Phoenix Parking Lot

The police are now investigating a scene after a man who had a gunshot wound was found in a Phoenix parking lot.

Phoenix Police told the local news that the mans injuries weren’t considered life threatening. The man was found early on Tuesday morning in a Denny’s parking lot. This was near 51st Avenue and Indian School Road.

They think that the man was probably injured somewhere before hand. At this time, no other details have been released.

Police Officer Dies After Shootings

Sadly, a North Dakota police officer has lost his life after he was hit by a gunshot. Police believe that they later found the suspect, he was found dead in the home that the shot officer had responded to a domestic disturbance call.

Officer Jason Moser was a six year police veteran. He had a wife as well as two children at home. He died at 12:45 p.m. from one gunshot wound, according to the police spokesman. According to Fargo Police Chief, David Todd, his family members visited him in the hospital earlier that day so that they could say goodbye to him.

The shooting happened on a Wednesday evening. The suspect was identified as Marcus Schumacher. The shooting started when the suspect fired at the officers who were just responding to a domestic disturbance call. That is when the standoff started as well. It lasted overnight and after the firing stopped the police discovered that Schumacher was already dead inside of the home. Police weren’t sure if they had shot him, or if he had shot himself.

The scary situation shook the neighborhood of Fargo.  Fargo is North Dakota’s largest city, however it has a low crime rate. According to the local authorities a police officer hasn’t died while on duty for more than a century.

The only other known police officer in Fargo who died while on duty was twenty-five year old Frederick Alderman. He was shot to death in July of 1882. This information came from the Officer Down Memorial Page, which is a nonprofit group that keeps the records of fallen Officers.

Forty-nine year old Schumacher was found dead just before dawn. This was in the home that he had barricaded himself in.

Armed Man Refuses to Surrender to Police

The Phoenix Police say that they had to close a major intersection on Monday night. This was after an armed man had refused to turn himself in to the police after a shoplifting incident at Fry’s Electronics Store.

The officers blocked the Thunderbird Road and 30th Avenue. They told the local news that they had to shut down the area due to the fact that a man locked himself in his van in a parking lot and he was threatening to harm himself.

Phoenix Police Spokesman, Vincent Lewis Statement:

We are attempting to safely contact someone who is a danger to himself and others.

Lewis later stated that the man finally surrendered to the police and was later taken into custody. Luckily no injuries were reported.

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Multiple Types of Murder Cases

Phoenix Domestic Abuse

Murder Crimes Near Phoenix

 

There are of course several types of murder. The most disturbing and unfathomable, in my opinion anyways, is Familicide. What is Familcide? It’s a term used when there is a multiple victim homicide where the killer’s spouse and children are killed.

 

Definition from Wikipedia

A familicide is a type of murder or murder-suicide in which at least one spouse and one or more children are killed,[1] or in which a parent or parents and possibly other relatives such as siblings and grandparents are killed.[2] In some cases all of the family members’ lives are taken. If only the parents are killed, the case may also be referred to as a parricide. Where all members of a family are killed, including when the killing takes the form of a murder-suicide, the crime may be referred to as family annihilation.

 

The cases I’ll be writing about today are similar but different. This first case is a lot like a familicide case.  The police have been able to identify the man who had been accused of decapitating a woman and two dogs. The man identified was identified as, Kenneth Wakefield.

 

The Phoenix Police Department are always helpful to the media. They have said that Wakefield was actually released from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. However, she was booked for a one count of 1st degree murder as well as two counts of animal cruelty. She was being held on a TWO million dollar bond money.

The believe that the suspect is known to have some physics and mental issues.  The two doggies were sadly found dead in the home.

 

On July 25th, the police had found the horrible crime scene. Which was located near 13th Place and Colter Street. They were able to easily locate the scene after a neighbor had went to check on the suspect and the victim. The neighbor knew that the suspect had mental issues.

 

The neighbor was quite shocked when, according to them, when the suspect, Wakefield had answered the door and the neighbor said that he was naked and also had a portion of his arm was cut off. Wakefield was a scary sight with his missing arm,and  missing right eye that was gouged out.

 

Wakefield didn’t try to deny what had happened. He admitted to the police officers that he had killed three of his own family members which were inside of the house.

 

Sadly, when Heisch was found she was decapitated as well as the dogs and in a closet. I feel so sorry for the victims and the police that found them I can’t imagine what a horrific scene that would have been.

 

The suspect was taken to the local hospital and had to undergo surgeries for his injuries. He was later released to the police after he was all fixed up.

 

Spouse Abuse or Murder?

 

Everyone has fights once and a while. If you’re married and have been for a while, chances are you might feel like killing one another on those stressful days. Only some people actually attempt to act on those wishes.

 

A woman had to be submitted to the hospital after the police claimed that her husband had shot her inside of their Mesa Home.

 

The Mesa Police Department said that they responded to a call that came out, just after six o’clock in the evening. The call came from an upscale gated community of “Las Sendas”. Las Sendas is located near the McDowell and Power Roads.

 

 

Police are keeping quiet about this scene. They are releasing very little information about what happened. However, they have said that the couple’s two children were inside of the house at the time of the shooting. Those poor kids must have been scared to death! The police say that the couple’s children are a young girl and an adult son. Hopefully the adult son can shed some light on the situation.

 

The police also say that the woman who was shot, is now in the hospital. Hopefully she will make a full recovery. The husband of the victim has been taken in for questioning. However, he has not been formally charged at this time.

 

The Mesa Police Department are now on the case and are investigating the incident.

 

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Past Murder Case Being Re-Evaluated

Past Murder Case Being Re-Evaluated

2007 Bus Driver Murder Case

 

Crime scenes are often left as a mystery. Sadly there are some sick people in this world and they are very good at covering their tracks. Some cases go unsolved simply for the lack of evidence. There’s actually a ton of reasons that murder cases go “unsolved” or unresolved.

The San Diego Police Department (SDPD) have confirmed that a man who was/is suspected of killing an off-duty bus driver at a San Diego doughnut shop, eight years ago will now face charges in the cold case.

The SDPD investigators have said that forty year old, Santiago Covarrubias will be facing murder charges for the 2007 killing of thirty-eight year old, Damon Green. Covarrubias has already been serving time in the state prison for other, unrelated homicide. The police found the information linking Covarrubias to the cold case while Covarrubias was still in prison. According to the SDPD, Covarrubias is now in custody in the San Diego Central Jail and will appear in court on a Monday.

According to the reports, Covarrubias is actually the second person to be linked to this murder case this year. The case was strangely enough cold for more than eight years. I guess when the information comes, it comes all at once.

On July 28th of this year, San Diego resident, Martin Villapando was arrested by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. The thirty-six year old was arrested as he was legally entering into the United States. He was then jailed on first degree murder for the connection of Green’s killing.

The court reports show that Villapando pleaded not guilty at his arraignment. The judge set his bail at $2 million. Villapando has been in custody and at the South Bay Detention Facility for around four months. He is scheduled to appear in court on December 17.

 

Bus Driver Shoot and Killed

 

The investigators say that Green was found critically injured and was found behind the Donuts Plus shop. The shop is located at 4090 El Cajon Blvd. Green was found around 2:30 in the early morning on March 20, 2007. The reports say that the man had suffered from several gunshot wounds to his torso. Green was quickly taken to a local hospital where he sadly passed away an hour later.

The investigating detectives think that Green was with a friend and eating at the taco shop which is next door to the doughnut shop, when Green got into the argument with Villapando and Covarrubias. Villapando and Covarrubias were the first ones to leave the taco shop.

 

Crime in San Diego

 

However, the two sneaksters came back as Mr. Green and his friend were leaving the shop. They didn’t come alone though, they came armed with a gun. The suspects confronted, unarmed Green outside of the doughnut shop. They started shooting at Green. Green ran into the doughnut shop to try to seek cover, however according to the detectives, shots were fired and went through the plate glass window. The shot fired that time would be the one to fatally wound Mr.Green.

The suspects were of course, quick to leave the scene. They made their getaway before the officers could respond to the call. The suspects were last seen on the northbound 41st Street. After Villapando was arrested over the summer Deputy District Attorney Supervisor of the Cold Case Homicide Unit, Tom Manning said that the cold case detectives had been actively working on this case for years. They had even talked to Villapando before about Green’s murder.

 

Manning’s Statement about the Murder

 

The police have had continuous contact with witnesses, including Mr. Villapando over the years. He knew San Diego Police detectives were continuing on the case and were also looking at him over the last few years.

 

If Mr. Villapando is convicted of Green’s murder he will face up to fifty years to life in prison.

Sybil Green, mother of deceased victim, said that the news of a arrest for her son’s killers over the summer brought her a wave of emotions. Which I’m sure is understandable. She probably feels the pain of losing her son all over, but some relief that something is being done about his death. But then probably guilty over someone else losing their life. I can’t imagine what she’s going through.

Sybil said that the day her son was tragically killed, was the “day her heard died”. And even though it’s been a few years, her family will always mourn for the loss of her son.

 

Sybil’s Statment:

You murder one person, but you slaughter a family because our family has not been the same since.

The family of Green are currently living in Las Vegas. Sybil said that she has always refused to believe that the killer of her son would actually get away with it. She’s looking forward to finally getting some justice for her son. She always refers to Green as her “gentle giant”.

Green didn’t just leave his mother behind though, he is survived by two sons and a daughter.  All because of a little dispute in a taco shop. Hopefully his loving family can get some peace, knowing that Green’s death isn’t going to go unpunished.

We hope that the police are able to get the crime rates down in San Diego and Phoenix. If not, what is going to be left for the families in those cities?

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Phoenix Shootings

Multiple Teenagers Involved in Shooting Crime Scene

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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