The Latest on the arrest of a suspect in a series of shootings in Phoenix (all times local) :
PHOENIX (AP) – The Latest on the arrest of a suspect in a series of shootings in Phoenix (all times local) : 6: 36 p.m. The relatives of two victims in a serial shooting case that Phoenix police say they’ve solved say they’re relieved but hurting emotionally. Gisela Castro, the mother of shooting victim Manuel Castro-Garcia, said news of the arrest felt like she was reliving the day she was told her son had been killed. Castro Garcia, 19, was killed on June 10,2016. Castro said she was happy a suspect has been arrested but sad because it does not mean her son will come back. She described him son as a noble person who studied and worked hard and was loved by everyone he knew. She said he preferred playing basketball with friends to partying. Marina Smith, the partner of 21-year-old Diego Verdugo-Sanchez, who was gunned down on April 1,2016, said she welcomed news of the arrest but was still grappling with his death. Smith was pregnant with the couple’s child when Verdugo-Sanchez was fatally shot. She said she had grown frustrated about being kept in the dark about the investigation. ____ 4: 45 p.m. Police have identified new victims in a series of Phoenix shootings that resulted in the arrest of a 23-year-old man. Authorities on Monday said Aaron Saucedo faces homicide charges in connection with a case police have said was the work of a serial killer. Police previously said at least seven people were killed and two others wounded over a four-month period last year. On Monday, they raised the number of people killed to nine and said there were 12 total shootings – with the first one happening in 2015. Police say one of the nine people was a 61-year-old man killed in August 2015 whom Saucedo knew through his mother. Authorities say Saucedo did not know the other victims. Saucedo initially was arrested last month in connection with the August 2015 killing. Police say tips from the community resulted in his arrest. ____ 3: 25 p.m. Authorities say a suspect has been arrested in series of shooting attacks in Phoenix last year that left at least seven people dead and two others wounded over a four-month period. Phoenix police announced Monday afternoon that 23-year-old Aaron Juan Saucedo was taken into custody in connection with the case that authorities said was the work of a serial killer. All but one of the killings took place in a predominantly Latino neighborhood between March and July of 2016. Police arrested Saucedo last in connection with a separate 2015 killing. Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams says tips from the public led to Saucedo being linked to last year’s killings. Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
