MESA, AZ — Officials say a 16-year-old is being charged as an adult after a deadly shooting in Mesa in December.
Officers responded to the area on Dec. 18 after reports of a shooting at a trailer park near McKellips Road and Center Street. Witnesses told police they saw "a male fire multiple rounds at the victim, who was seated in the driver's seat of a green truck."
Police say the suspect fled the scene with a rifle, returned moments later, and drove away with the victim inside the vehicle.
Officers later located the abandoned truck on Quenton Drive near Val Vista Drive and McDowell Road, with the victim still inside. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mesa police later identified a 16-year-old as the suspect responsible for the deadly shooting. On December 27, the teen was located at an apartment and taken into custody.
The teen allegedly admitted to being present at the scene and holding the weapon that killed the victim, according to police.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell has indicted the teen, who is being charged as an adult on charges including:
- One count of First-Degree Murder, a Class One felony
- One count of Armed Robbery, a Class Two felony
- One count of Theft of Means of Transportation, a Class Three felony
- One count of Abandonment or Concealment of a Dead Body, a Class Five felony
- One count of Tampering with Physical Evidence, a Class Six felony
