Man arrested in ‘Street Shooter’ case
Police: Phoenix man linked to 12 incidents, 9 fatalities since 2015
After weeks of speculation and unconfirmed reports, Phoenix police on Monday officially announced that they were holding a suspect in the “Serial Street Shootings” case that terrorized the Phoenix area for four months last year.
Aaron Saucedo, who was initially arrested April 19 in a fatal 2015 shooting, was rebooked into a Maricopa County jail on Monday and is now facing 26 charges related to the serial shootings, police said.
Duringthe announcement Monday afternoon, Police Chief Jeri Williams said that at least two additional murders, including the 2015 shooting, had been linked to the serial shootings, bringing the death toll to nine.
And she said investigators recently added to the series an incident in August 2015 in which shots were fired into a house but no one was hurt. That brings the total number of shootings to 12.
Williams said tips from the community — about 3,300 in all — ultimately led police to Saucedo.
“We hope that our community will rest a little easier and that our officers will get a little more sleep (knowing) that our wheels of justice are finally in motion at work,” she said.
Last month, Saucedo was arrested and held on a $750,000 bond in the shooting death of 61-year-old Raul Romero on Aug. 16, 2015. Romero had been dating Saucedo’s mother at the time of his death.
Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams on Monday announces the arrest of Aaron Saucedo in the ‘Serial Street Shooter’ case. TOM TINGLE/THE REPUBLIC
Police on Monday linked Romero’s death to the street shootings as well as the shooting death of 22year-old Jesse Olivas, who was killed in a drive-by shooting on Jan. 1, 2016.
Unlike Romero, the rest of the victims seemed to be picked at random. They were visiting family, returning home from work or lounging in their yards when they were gunned down.
Witnesses described a slender young man but couldn’t agree on a vehicle.
Police said it was possible that the killer had access to multiple cars, but authorities circulated a stock photo of one vehicle a witness described in detail: a black BMW 5 series, late 1990s to early 2000s.
Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Jonathan Howard said police have not yet identified a motive, but suggested that Saucedo has given incriminating statements to police.
When asked why activity appeared to cease in July, Howard pointed to a police media push.
It was then that Saucedo decided to change his appearance and stop driving his BMW, Howard said Saucedo told investigators.
Howard said a “wide host of evidence” linked Saucedo to the shootings, including ballistics, surveillance, witnesses and other forensic evidence.
The case is now in the hands of Maricopa County prosecutors, who will decide what charges Saucedo may face.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton commended the Phoenix Police Department for “carefully and methodically” working the case.
“Our officers didn’t rest,” Stanton said. “Investigators worked every lead. They followed the evidence. They had a clear mission: Get the killer to justice and get it right.”
At the time of his arrest, Saucedo was living in the 4600 block of North 10th Street in Phoenix, court records say.
Two investigators were outside the home when Arizona Republic reporters showed up last month, but at the time would not confirm the reason for their presence.
The shooter struck 12 times between August 12, 2015, and July 11, 2016, killing nine people and wounding two more.
The first two shootings took place just east of Seventh Street between Camelback and Bethany Home roads, within a five-minute drive of Saucedo’s home.
Seven of the attacks were in the west Phoenix community of Maryvale, in an area roughly between McDowell Road to the south to Camelback Road to the north and stretching from 55th Avenue to 73rd Avenue.
Three other attacks took place in east-central Phoenix, two of them near 32nd Street — one near Oak Street and the other near Fillmore Street.
The third attack occurred south of Banner University Medical Center-Phoenix.
All of the shootings were in residential neighborhoods with predominantly Hispanic populations where most residents primarily speak Spanish.