Charges dismissed in fatal parking lot shooting – for now
The murder case against a 37-year-old man charged in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman in a motel parking lot last month has been dismissed – at least for now.
According to court records, charges against Steven Phillip Brown were dismissed on July 31. However, prosecutor Karolyn Kaczorowski of the Yuma County Attorney’s Office said the charges were dismissed without prejudice, so they could still be refiled later.
The reason given in a two-page motion filed in Yuma County Superior Court was because of the need for further investigation.
Brown’s next court date, which had been set for Aug. 16, has also been vacated. He has also been released from custody because he was not being held in connection to any other charges.
When asked, Kaczorowski said she could not comment any further, citing the ongoing investigation.
Court records also indicated that Brown’s attorney, Raymond Hanna of the Yuma County Public Defender’s Offic, had filed paperwork with the court indicating that he planned to claim his client acted in self-defense.
Brown, who was being held in the Yuma County jail on a $1 million bond, had been charged with second-degree murder per domestic violence and aggravated assault per domestic violence in the shooting death of 28-year-old Perla Patton Sanchez.
Sanchez, who is from Phoenix was married and had two children.
Brown, who police said shot Sanchez with a .22 caliber handgun, pleaded not guilty to the charges when he appeared before Superior Court Judge Roger Nelson, according to court records.
According to the Yuma Police Department, at about 5:01 a.m. on June 30 officers responded to the 1600 block of Riley Avenue in reference to shots being fired. When officers arrived on scene, they found Sanchez with a single gunshot wound in a parking lot near the Super 8 Motel. She was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Brown was taken into custody without incident.
Her family has set up a GoFundMe page at www. gofundme.com/pearla-patton-sanchez-funeral to help cover the cost of the funeral expenses.