State Glance
Phoenix police ID 3rd man killed in triple homicide
PHOENIX — Police have identified a 50-year-old man as the third of three people killed earlier this week in a shooting in a Phoenix neighborhood.
Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Alan Pfohl said Friday the victim was Manuel Francisco Rodriguez Jimenez.
The other men killed in the Wednesday afternoon shooting were earlier identified as 21-year-old Francisco Javier Galindo and 26-year-old Vidal Hernandez-Gutierrez.
Pfohl did not mention a motive in the latest statement about the shooting that involved a Phoenix man gunning the three men down at a neighbor’s home before he was killed in a shootout with police.
Police earlier reported that 39-year-old Edward Hallinan had been firing a rifle from his truck and was shot in a confrontation with arriving officers. He died of his injuries at a hospital.
Snow, ice on highways as system crosses northern Arizona
FLAGSTAFF— Authorities reported snow and icy conditions on northern Arizona highways as a storm system swept across the region.
The National Weather Service said a cold front has caused snow showers and that snow levels will reach down to valley floors.
The state Department of Transportation said Friday that snow forced the closure of Interstate 40 eastbound at Ash Fork. A winter weather advisory issued for the Flagstaff area predicted new snowfall between 3 a.m. and 8 p.m. Friday in Flagstaff and Williams may reach up to 4 inches (10 centimeters).
ADOT advised travelers headed to the Grand Canyon to allow plenty of extra travel time because of snow and limited visibility.
Police: Officer fatally shoots armed man at vacant home
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Police Department says an officer fatally shot an armed man during an encounter outside a vacant home where the man was trespassing.
Police say the officer shot 27-year-old Jacob Uptain on Thursday after responding to a neighbor’s call about seeing a man jump into the recently vacated home’s yard.
According to police, Uptain had a gun and the officer fired as Uptain approached the officer’s vehicle and reached for his waist where he had a second gun.
No officers were injured.
I-10 crash in Tucson leads to gunshot victim, man’s arrest
TUCSON — The Arizona Department of Public Safety says a female car crash victim in Tucson was found with a fatal gunshot wound and her male companion was the assailant.
Trooper Kameron Lee said Friday that 32-year-old Leroy Calderon Jr. has been booked into jail for seconddegree homicide, child abuse and being a prohibited possessor of a firearm.
Troopers responded to Interstate 10 near Kolb Road Thursday evening after a car hit the median.
They found the victim in the driver’s seat. Calderon and the couple’s 7-year-old son were nearby.
Lee says detectives at the scene determined Calderon had shot her either before or after the crash.
The boy has been turned over to the Department of Child Safety.
Border patrol agent pleads guilty to misdemeanor charge
TUCSON — A Border Patrol agent accused of punching a man who was handcuffed and lying on the ground in southern Arizona has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge.
The Arizona Daily Star reports Roy Ammerman on Tuesday pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law after reaching a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
According to court documents, agents arrested a man outside Nogales near the border with Mexico in July 2014. The agent who made the arrest sustained an injury. According to the documents, Ammerman then hit the arrestee on the head with a closed fist multiple times.
Ammerman has agreed to resign following sentencing.