‘Don’t commit a crime in Glendale because you will get caught’: High-tech tools help Glendale police track down murder suspect

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Glendale police say officers were already on their way to a deadly shooting before anyone called 911, thanks to gunshot detection technology that helped them quickly locate the scene and identify a suspect.

Just before 4 a.m. on April 3, officers responded to the area of 59th Avenue and Missouri Avenue within seconds of multiple gunshots being detected by a system known as ShotSpotter.

“If gunshots are being fired, it’ll pinpoint the exact location,” Glendale Police Sgt. Bryan Hoskin said.

When officers arrived, they found David Aguayo, who had been shot multiple times. He died at the scene.

At the same time, investigators were using city surveillance cameras inside the department’s Real Time Crime Center to track what happened.

“They were able to pinpoint who they thought might have been involved,” Hoskin said.

According to court documents, video shows a suspect crossing the street and shooting Aguayo before running away and leaving in a white truck.

“It led them to, you know, like some license plate information that we were able to get from the Glendale cameras and a location of where the individual came from, at which point, then detectives did what they do, and they went and started to surveil,” Hoskin said.

Police said the suspect also left behind his wallet and cellphone near the scene.

Later that day, officers arrested 22-year-old Christopher Alvarez, who was charged with second-degree murder.

Court documents say Alvarez had been arguing with his girlfriend outside a gas station when Aguayo, who was across the street, yelled something that sparked a confrontation.

“If someone’s across the street yelling something at you that you don’t like, you know, I’m sure somebody said a lot of things to you in your life that you don’t like, but to go to these measures is kind of extreme,” Hoskin said. 

Police say the case highlights how technology is changing the way they respond to crime.

“With our real-time crime center, we’re pretty spoiled, and we get to use this type of technology on any type of call that we have, you know, with the ability to have kind of eyes everywhere, and it helps us to fight crime and reduce crime on a regular basis,” Hoskin said.

He added that the tools send a clear message to would-be offenders.

“Don’t commit a crime in Glendale, because you will get caught no matter the severity,” Hoskin said.

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