Man who claimed self-defense sentenced to 20 years for Phoenix group home shooting

PHOENIX – A man who claimed self-defense after fatally shooting a fellow resident at a Phoenix group home was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday, authorities said.

Michael Lanunziata alleged that the victim, Joseph Lephiew, “came at him” first, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, but a jury found Lanunziata guilty of second-degree murder in January.

Prosecutors described the crime scene as a transitional living environment near 42nd Drive and McDowell Road, where Lanunziata and Lephiew lived for about a year. Three other men were also living there at the time of the shooting.

Officers responded to multiple 911 calls about gunfire at the home around 9 p.m. on Jan. 25, 2024.

Lanunziata, who was 35 at the time, climbed out onto the roof when police arrived. From there, he said there was one gun in the house and it belonged to him.

Officers entered the home and found Lephiew on the stairs with gunshot wounds. Lanunziata’s gun and shell casings were found at the top of the staircase. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

Self-defense claim rejected — this time

Witnesses reported hearing an argument followed by gunfire. Lanunziata claimed that he shot his housemate in self-defense, but his story did not match the evidence, prosecutors said.

“This was not self-defense — it was a deadly and unjustified act of violence inside a place where people should have felt safe,” County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said in a media advisory Monday. “The defendant chose to bring a gun into that home, escalate a conflict and take a life. … [Lanunziata’s] sentence holds him accountable, but nothing can undo the harm caused to the victim and everyone affected by this crime.”

This isn’t the first time Lanunziata claimed self-defense after becoming a suspect in a deadly shooting. He shot and killed a housemate in Henderson, Nevada, 10 years ago but was not prosecuted, according to the sentencing memorandum filed by Arizona prosecutors in April.

The victim in the 2016 case, Lamar Reid Jr., reportedly was the grand nephew of longtime U.S. Sen. Harry Reid.

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