Serial Shooter suspect pleads not guilty in Phoenix court
Jul 6, 2017, 7:40 AM | Updated: 11:36 am
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — A young man accused of a crime spree in Phoenix that earned him the nickname Serial Street Shooter pleaded not guilty Thursday to nine charges of first-degree murder.
Aaron Juan Saucedo, 23, did not appear in court. He waived reading of charges that included attempted murder, aggravated assault, six counts of drive-by shootings and endangerment in a dozen shootings.
State v Aaron Saucedo: the defendant pled not guilty. His next court date is 8/16.
— MC Superior Court (@courtpio) July 6, 2017
Saucedo was arrested in May and indicted June 30 for fatally shooting nine people and wounding two more from August 2015 to July 2016.
The shootings left the Maryvale neighborhood on edge and police frustrated. Victims included Raul Romero, who was dating Saucedo’s mother in 2015.
Police would eventually conclude that homicide — nowhere near Maryvale at Seventh Street and Bethany Home Road — was the first in the deadly sequence.
A 12-year-old girl was also killed.
The shootings took place in parks and on streets in front of homes.
Authorities said they had collected bullet casings from each crime scene that helped lead them to Saucedo.
Coworkers also called police to say they knew a man who looked like a sketch artist’s rendering of the suspect and that he drove a car similar to the one described by witnesses.
Saucedo proclaimed his innocence to a judge during a hearing in May.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
