Suspect in 9 killings declares innocence
PHOENIX — A former city bus driver suspected in a string of nine deadly shootings that spread fear in Phoenix declared “I’m innocent” as residents of the terrorized neighborhoods Tuesday expressed both relief over the arrest and frustration that it took so long.
Aaron Saucedo, 23, spoke up during a brief court appearance late Monday night after his arrest on suspicion of being the killer dubbed the Serial Street Shooter. A judge ordered him held without bail.
Police say Saucedo killed nine people and carried out 12 shootings from August 2015 to July 2016, gunning down victims after dark as they stood outside their homes or sat in their cars. Most of the killings were in a Latino neighborhood.
Police gave no details on a motive. Saucedo knew only the first victim, and the other killings were random, authorities said.
Because of the shootings last summer, some residents stayed inside after dark. Others were afraid to come forward because many are immigrants in the U.S. illegally or don’t have their paperwork in order.
Residents said they were happy that police made an arrest but questioned whether it would have happened sooner had the killings occurred in a different neighborhood.
“They didn’t look for him at all. They didn’t care. You know why? Because there were no white people dying,” resident Sirwendell Flowers said. “Look at the faces on the news. The police didn’t care.”
Marina Smith was seven months pregnant last year when her partner, 21-year-old Diego Verdugo-Sanchez, was gunned down. Smith said she had grown frustrated as detectives kept her in the dark about the investigation.
“The fact of them finding somebody, at least it was some type of news,” she said.
The hunt for the killer yielded more than 30,000 tips, and authorities said it was a tipster who provided the break in the case. But they would not elaborate, and details of the evidence assembled against Saucedo were sealed by a judge at prosecutors’ request.
Witnesses described the shooter as a young, lanky Hispanic man who drove a BMW, helping develop a sketch that bears a striking resemblance to Saucedo. Police said Saucedo had a BMW but stopped driving it and changed his appearance after the final shooting.
Saucedo drove a bus for the city of Phoenix through a temp agency in 2015, police said.
Police said they would pay out a $75,000 reward offered in the case but declined to say how many people would get the money.