Legally Speaking: What’s next for Phoenix Serial Street Shooter suspect?
Jun 12, 2017, 4:59 AM | Updated: 12:05 pm
Aaron Juan Saucedo, the suspect in the Serial Street Shooter case in Phoenix, is shown. (Phoenix Police Photos)
(Phoenix Police Photos)
Aaron Saucedo is scheduled to be back in court on June 19 for an IPTC (initial pre-trial conference), but, as of right now, it is NOT for the Phoenix Serial Shooting case.
Saucedo was arrested on April 19 for the 2015 murder of Raul Romero and a grand jury indictment charging him with first-degree murder was filed nine days later on April 28.
Due to evidence discovered during that case, on May 8 Saucedo was arrested on suspicion of 26 additional felony counts linked to the Phoenix Serial Shooting case. Saucedo, however, has not been formally charged by the Maricopa County prosecutor’s office for any crimes related to the Phoenix Serial Shooting case.
Why Saucedo hasn’t Saucedo been officially charged?
It’s simply because there is no urgency in doing so. Let me explain.
Once Saucedo was charged with the murder of Romero, his bail was set at $750,000. Considering how high the amount is, there is no realistic chance that he will post bail and be released. As such, investigators and prosecutors have additional time to cross all the Ts and dot all the Is in the Phoenix Serial Shooting case. Had he been set to be released, then I can assure you official charges would have been filed in order to keep him in custody.
Saucedo has two separate cases going on, the first-degree murder case of Romero and the Serial Shooter case. The current case regarding Romero has been designated a “complex case” which means a different set of rules and time periods are applied. This is typically done in cases that are complex, high level, high profile or involve multiple crimes/victims/witnesses.
This is beneficial for all parties as it allows each side additional time to prepare their case. When the County Attorney’s office files the complaint in the Serial Shooter case I anticipate it will also move to designate it as a complex case.
What has happened recently? Two things of note.
Two things of note.
First, (in the Romero case) the Court recently granted the Defendant’s Request for Extension of Time to Challenge the Grand Jury Proceedings which means the Defendant has until July 18 to challenge what happened at the grand jury hearing.
Second, prosecutor Juan Martinez and the defense submitted a Stipulation to Extend Notice Deadline extending the deadline for the State to file a Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty for 60 days to Sept. 4.
What does this mean?
The State must decide and let the court and defendant know by Sept. 4 whether it will be seeking the death penalty for the murder of Romero. Remember, these actions have nothing to do with the Phoenix Serial Shooter case.
What’s next is that Saucedo will be in court on June 19 for a routine court conference for the Romero case, the Maricopa County prosecutor’s office and investigators will continue to work on the Phoenix Serial Shooter case and KTAR News and I will keep you updated on any developments.
