Category: Arizona News

Phoenix police investigate shooting death of 21-year-old man near 35th Avenue, Greenway Road

The Phoenix Police Department is investigating the death of a 21-year-old man found with gunshot wounds near 35th Avenue and Greenway Road Saturday morning.

Officers responded to the scene around 1 a.m. to reports of gunshots and found Zyion Parker, 21.

Parker died from his injuries on the scene, police said.

According to Phoenix police, an investigation was active and ongoing.

Police asked anyone with information to contact Phoenix police or call Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, or 480-TESTIGO for Spanish speakers.

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Man pleads guilty in 2020 Westgate shooting in Glendale

A Glendale police forensics investigator works the scene at the Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale on May 21, 2020. On Wednesday evening, May 20, 2020, there was an active shooter situation where three people were injured, one critically. David Wallace/The Republic

A 22-year-old man faces up to 44 years in prison when sentenced after pleading guilty in the 2020 shootings of three people at an entertainment district in a Phoenix suburb.

Armando Hernandez on Friday pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted first-degree murder and two of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Under a plea agreement, dozens of other counts were dismissed.

Hernandez faced charges for injuring a 30-year-old woman, a 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl with a rifle at Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale in May 2020.

All of the victims survived.

In a 250-page police report released in October 2020, Hernandez told police he wanted to shoot 10 people when he opened fire at Westgate Entertainment District.

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Navajo residents fear income losses if the feds halt oil and gas leases near Chaco Canyon

The Bureau of Land Management will extend the public comment period on a proposal to close federal lands to new mineral leases around Chaco Canyon National Historical Park.

The agency’s announcement comes a month after Navajo residents who lease property to oil and gas companies asked the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to intervene. They want the judges to reaffirm a lower court’s dismissal of a case filed by environmental groups trying to stop fracking near Chaco Canyon.

“I don’t think the lawsuit had any merit at all,” said Troy A. Eid of Greenberg Traurig LLP, who represents the tribe members, “This is not an area where someone is proposing resource development in a new fashion or new place. This is an area where the principal source of economic benefit to probably more than 20,000 families comes from oil and gas.”

Navajo allotment land owners in the region have long worked with the federal government and oil and gas companies to lease mineral rights, creating a source of income for them and their families.

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Phoenix police: 63-year-old bicyclist killed in hit-and-run near 16th, Roosevelt streets

A 63-year-old bicyclist was killed in a hit-and-run near 16th and Roosevelt streets in Phoenix on Friday evening, officials said.

The man, who had not been identified as of Saturday morning, was crossing 16th Street and heading westbound around 10:15 p.m. on Friday when a driver in a sedan traveling northbound hit him, Phoenix Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Vincent Cole said.

The driver, who had also not been identified by Saturday, continued heading northbound and left the area, Cole said.

The bicyclist was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries.

No further details were immediately available. An investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Phoenix Police Department at 602-262-6151 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO.

Reach the reporter at bfrank@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8529.  Follow her on Twitter @brieannafrank. 

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DPS trooper remains in stable condition after Kingman shooting, 1 suspect hospitalized

A state trooper and one suspect were shot in Kingman on Friday afternoon, the Arizona Department of Public Safety said.

The shooting happened around 3:40 p.m. near Thompson and Powell avenues, the DPS said.

The trooper remained in stable condition as of Saturday morning, DPS spokesperson Raul Garcia said.

The suspect who was shot remained hospitalized on Saturday. It wasn’t immediately clear what their condition was.

A second suspect was taken into custody on Friday and had not been identified as of Saturday.

As of Saturday, officials had not disclosed what led up to the shooting nor who fired the first shot.

No further details were immediately available. An investigation is ongoing.

Reach breaking news reporter Haleigh Kochanski at hkochanski@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @HaleighKochans.

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