‘He could be at the morgue’: Mesa family urges prosecutors to reconsider charges in New Year’s Day shooting

MESA, Ariz. — A Mesa family is calling on Maricopa County prosecutors to reconsider the charges filed against a 19-year-old man accused of shooting at their son, arguing the case should be prosecuted as attempted murder rather than aggravated assault.

The shooting happened in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in the parking lot of Little Mesa Café. Kaden Horace’s family says he narrowly escaped death when a single bullet fired toward his head missed him by inches.

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According to police and court records, the shooting stemmed from a love triangle. The suspect, Erik Feliciano, 19, the current boyfriend of Horace’s ex-girlfriend, is accused of arriving at the café parking lot in his truck, ramming the back of Horace’s vehicle, getting out while armed with a handgun, striking Horace’s driver-side window with the firearm, and then firing a shot toward him.

Horace ducked just in time. The bullet shattered the driver-side window and lodged in the car’s B-pillar. Photos provided by the family show the bullet hole in the window and where the round became embedded in the vehicle. Horace suffered minor injuries to his neck and face from broken glass.

“I could have been at the morgue identifying his body,” Horace’s mother, Jennifer Kurcz, said, describing the fear she felt as she rushed to the scene after learning her son had been shot at. “I was so grateful he was alive.”

Mesa police executed a search warrant at a home belonging to a family member of Feliciano and recovered the suspected handgun used in the shooting. Investigators say the weapon was found wrapped in a black trash bag. The magazine had a capacity of 15 rounds, with 14 loaded, indicating one round had been fired.

Feliciano was arrested and later indicted on four felony charges. The most serious charge he faces is aggravated assault, a class-3 felony. Horace and his family believe that the charge does not reflect the severity of what occurred.

“How is this not attempted murder?” Kurcz questioned. “You shot at his head.”

The family points to the trajectory of the bullet and its proximity to Horace’s head as evidence that the shooting could easily have been fatal. They are urging the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to take another look at the case.

In a statement to 12News, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said Mesa police referred the case for aggravated assault and that prosecutors determined the evidence supported that charge rather than attempted murder. Because the case is still open, the office said it could not discuss specific evidence but maintains the current charges are supported by the facts.

Feliciano has since been released from jail after posting a $150,000 cash bond.

Under Arizona law, the distinction between aggravated assault and attempted murder often hinges on intent, specifically whether prosecutors can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect intended to kill, rather than injure, the victim. Prosecutors say they believe aggravated assault is what they can prove in court, a determination Horace’s family continues to challenge as the case moves forward.

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