Man sentenced to 45 years for shooting and killing construction worker

PHOENIX — A man was sentenced to 45 years in prison for shooting and killing a construction worker and shooting at others near a Phoenix apartment complex in 2022.

Zachery Shropshire was sentenced for the March 2022 shooting, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. 

Workers were doing remodeling work and cleaning up for lunch when Shropshire stepped out of his apartment’s door armed with a high-powered rifle and a .45 Glock handgun and began shooting. 

Prosecutors said he hit Alvaro Quezada in the leg, rendering him immobile and unable to escape. Shropshire then fired numerous rounds into Alvaro, killing him.

One person was injured by shrapnel, and another was shot at while trying to save Alvaro. Shropshire fired approximately 24 rounds before getting in his car and driving away.

While trying to get away, Shropshire crashed his car into a parked car about a mile away and ran off. Phoenix Police quickly found him in an alley nearby and arrested him.

“This was a senseless attack on innocent people who were simply trying to do their jobs,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. 

In October, a jury found Shropshire guilty of second-degree murder and other charges.

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