Teenager facing murder charge for East Valley death

MESA, Ariz. — A 16-year-old has been taken into custody for allegedly being involved in a deadly shooting earlier this month in Mesa.

On Dec. 18 at about 2:30 p.m., officers responded to a trailer park on McKellips Road where witnesses reported seeing a suspect fire multiple rounds at a victim seated in a green truck. The suspect left and returned moments later to drive away in the vehicle with the victim still inside.

The truck was later found abandoned with the victim dead inside from gunshot wounds. A rifle believed to be the murder weapon was recovered during a canvass of the neighborhood. 

Mesa police said a 16-year-old was detained on Dec. 27 after the teenager was identified as a suspect. The teen allegedly admitted to being present at the scene of the shooting and to holding the murder weapon, police said. 

The juvenile is facing charges of murder, armed robbery and abandoning a dead body.

Anyone with further information about the incident can contact 480-644-2211.

“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest. 

The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:

• Mesa
• Chandler
• Scottsdale
• Tempe
• Glendale
• Surprise
• Peoria
• Gilbert
• El Mirage
• Avondale
• Litchfield Park
• Goodyear
• Buckeye

Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.

The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.

How big is Maricopa County?

Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.

The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).

One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.

The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.

The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.