Arrest made after fatal shooting at McDonald’s drive-thru in Mesa
Jan 16, 2024, 9:00 AM | Updated: 10:06 am
Carlos Heard II was arrested in connection with a Jan. 13, 2024, shooting outside a McDonald's in Mesa, Arizona. (Mesa Police Department and Pexels Photos)
(Mesa Police Department and Pexels Photos)
PHOENIX — An arrest has been made after a man was shot and killed outside an East Valley McDonald’s over the weekend, authorities said.
Officers responded to the 24-hour restaurant at Country Club Drive and Southern Avenue in Mesa around 3 a.m. Saturday, the Mesa Police Department said.
They found Daniel Betker, 22, with gunshot wounds in the drive-thru lane. Betker died after being taken to a hospital.
How did police identify suspect in Mesa McDonald’s shooting?
Officers used witness accounts and surveillance video to connect a black Hyundai Elantra owned by Carlos Heard II to the incident, police said.
Police located the car at an apartment complex near Baseline and Alma School roads, about 2 miles from the crime scene.
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Evidence of Heard’s involvement in the shooting, including a handgun, was located when search warrants were served on his car and apartment, police said.
Heard, 26, was taken into custody Sunday and allegedly admitted to his involvement, police said.
Heard and Betker allegedly exchanged gunfire after a verbal altercation escalated while they were in the drive-thru line, according to court documents.
Heard was booked into jail on one count each of second-degree murder, endangerment and disorderly conduct.
His bond was set at $1 million.
