Man arrested for 2013 Phoenix murder of unarmed security guard after witnesses comes forward

A 43-year-old man was arrested last week after being identified through newly obtained witness statements as the suspect who shot and killed 59-year-old Jeffrey Bellemare at a Phoenix apartment complex in 2013, court records revealed.

Joe Gerardo was booked into jail on a first-degree murder charge after being taken into custody in Globe on Nov. 3, according to the Phoenix Police Department.

On Nov. 29, 2013, Bellemare was fatally shot around 1:30 a.m. while working as an unarmed security guard at a complex near 51st Avenue and Indian School Road.

At the time, witnesses told investigators they saw a man and woman run from where Bellemare was shot and get into an older-model sedan with front-end damage before it fled.

Authorities found two .40-caliber casings and a black cellphone backing with the words “real gangsta” on it, the probable cause statement said.

In 2015, a woman contacted investigators and said her teenage daughter saw the shooter on the night Bellemare was killed but was afraid to talk to police. Authorities followed up but were unable to identify a suspect, according to court records.

Earlier this year, another woman who was also a teenager when the shooting occurred came forward. She described seeing the suspects walk through the parking lot, explaining the man had a gun and said he was going to “handle” Bellemare that night. The woman later identified Gerardo in a photo lineup.

A man who was in an apartment with the new witness the night Bellemare was killed was also interviewed and told investigators that a man named “Tweety” came to the apartment with a woman.

Authorities also interviewed someone else who lived at the complex in 2013. That person told police they heard people say Tweety was responsible for Bellemare’s killing and identified Gerardo as Tweety.

While investigating further, police learned Gerardo knew someone living at the complex at the time, was known to carry a .40-caliber handgun, owned a 1993 Chrysler Imperial sedan with front-end damage and was a documented gang member called Tweety.

After being taken into custody, Gerardo declined to be interviewed.

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