14-year-old arrested for allegedly killing man during Phoenix burglary
Aug 26, 2019, 4:00 PM | Updated: Aug 27, 2019, 1:15 pm
PHOENIX — A 14-year-old was arrested last week for allegedly killing a man who walked in to find the boy burglarizing his Phoenix apartment.
Police said they responded to a call to the residence near 16th and Fillmore streets around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and found Diego Martinez, 30, critically wounded by gunfire.
He was pronounced dead on the scene.
According to court documents, witnesses told police they saw a man with tattoos on his arm walking away from the scene after they heard shots fired.
A witness also provided officers with security video that showed the same person put items in a trash can where Martinez’s phone and wallet were found.
Officers identified the teenager as the person in the video and found him later in the day with blood on his clothes, according to the documents.
He reportedly told police that he broke the apartment’s back window and found a weapon after entering. When Martinez came home, the teenager said he ran out the front door, fired several shots into the doorway and took the phone and wallet.
The documents stated the teenager took a bus to 35th Avenue and McDowell Road and dumped the gun in a dumpster at Isaac Middle School.
He was booked into a juvenile facility on felony murder, burglary and armed robbery charges.
According to Phoenix police, the teen will be charged as an adult. He was being held on $1,000,000 bond.