Files reveal details in Wittmann slayings
Alcohol and a joke gone too far appear to have played a part in the shooting that left three family members dead late Aug. 9 in Wittmann.
According to court documents, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at 9:38 p.m. from Miguel Rios, who said three family members had been shot by a man named “Moises,” who authorities later identified as Hermelindo Sanchez.
Rios told the Sheriff ’s Office that his brother, Julio Rios, was shot in the temple and his brother-inlaw, Adrane Mirotens, had been shot in the chest at his father’s home near North Palo Verde and East Myers streets. He did not describe where his father, Juan Rios, was shot according to the report.
Sheriff’s Office deputies and assisting state troopers found Sanchez in his Wittmann home at 10:13 p.m. and took him into custody.
They brought Miguel Rios’ mother to the patrol car where Sanchez was being held about 10 minutes later, and she positively identified him as the shooter, documents show.
Arrest records show the three victims weren’t pronounced dead until 10:36 p.m., 10:37 p.m. and 10:50 p.m.
Rios’ mother said she stayed in the house when Sanchez arrived at the family home around 6 p.m. with a case of beer to share with her family in the front yard.
Sanchez later told deputies he drank at least a dozen 12-ounce bottles of Corona before visiting the home.
Sanchez told deputies he met Juan Rios several years ago while working at a construction site. Juan’s wife told deputies the men were friendly, but she didn’t like having Sanchez around because she thought he was “disrespectful,” records show.
Documents show Sanchez approached Mirotens in the kitchen later that evening and joked he’d make someone in the family his girlfriend. It’s unclear in the report whether the woman to whom he’s referring is the Mirotens’ wife. Sanchez told officers he left the home after the Julio Rios and Mirotens became confrontational.
Witnesses said Sanchez left the area around 8 p.m. and returned about 15 minutes later on a golf cart. Juan Rios noticed Sanchez was breathing heavily and asked him what was the matter, as Julio Rios and Mirotens joined him. Shortly after, Juan’s wife heard five to seven gunshots.
She said she hadn’t heard any signs of an argument prior to the shooting, according to the report. She took cover while cradling a 10-month-old infant after hearing the first shot.
When the coast was clear, she used a flashlight to find her son in the front yard with a gunshot wound on his head. She entered her home where she found her husband and son-in-law bleeding out on the floor.
Documents say Sanchez initially told deputies he left the home after the two men confronted him, and he denied a physical fight ever happened. But when deputies brought up what Juan’s wife told them, Sanchez changed his story to say he fired a warning shot in the air once or twice with a gun he found in the yard and ran home.
Deputies also interviewed Sanchez’s wife, who said her husband barged into the home and ordered her to call 911 because armed men were chasing him, records show.
Sanchez eventually asked to speak to a lawyer.
Deputies found six bullet casings between the front yard and the front door of the home where the shooting occurred. Sanchez was booked into Fourth Avenue Jail, where he was being held in lieu of $1 million bond.
He faces three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of endangerment.
His next court hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court.