Police release ID of suspect in fatal Phoenix party shooting

PHOENIX – Police have released the identity of the man suspected of shooting two people to death and wounding four others in north Phoenix this week.

Jeffery Rhone, 29, was taken into custody Tuesday, after an hourslong search.

Rhone was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, burglary and disorderly conduct involving a weapon.

Jorge Rodriguez, 30, and Shelby Verderosa, 17, were killed.

Police discovered Verderosa’s 6-month-old baby, unharmed, underneath her at the home near 27th and Dunlap avenues.

According to police documents, partygoers said Rhone believed someone at the house had stolen his wallet. He allegedly argued with several men about it and left.

Around 3:30 a.m., “There was a knock at the door, somebody opened the door and the suspect went inside and just began shooting randomly,” Sgt. Armando Carbajal told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News in the hours after the shooting.

Four men, ages ranging from 19 to 56, were hospitalized with serious injuries but were expected to survive.

One of the guests Rhone allegedly shot managed to escape out a door, police said, but Rhone chased the man down the street for a few blocks.

That man made it to a hotel near Interstate 17 and called police.

Rhone surrendered after an officer spotted him in a car in a parking lot near 35th and Northern avenues.

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