Phoenix serial killings suspect: ‘I’m innocent’
PHOENIX (AP) – A former city bus driver suspected in a string of nine deadly shootings that spread fear in Phoenix declared “I’m innocent” as residents of the terrorized neighborhoods Tuesday expressed relief over the arrest and frustration that it took so long.
Aaron Saucedo, 23, spoke up during a brief court appearance late Monday night after his arrest on suspicion of being the killer dubbed the Serial Street Shooter. A judge ordered him held without bail.
Police say Saucedo killed nine people and carried out 12 shootings from August 2015 to July 2016, gunning down victims after dark as they stood outside their homes or sat in their cars. Most of the killings were in a diverse, mostly Latino neighborhood.
Police gave no details on a motive. Saucedo knew only the first victim, and the other killings were random, authorities said.
Because of the shootings last summer, some residents stayed inside after dark. Others were afraid to come forward because many are immigrants in the U.S. illegally or don’t have their paperwork in order. In interviews with families of victims and residents, people said they were happy that police made an arrest but questioned whether it would have happened sooner had the killings occurred in a different neighborhood.
“They didn’t look for him at all. They didn’t care. You know why? Because there were no white people dying,” resident Sirwendell Flowers said. “Look at the faces on the news. The police didn’t care.”
Parents and family members of the victims said they were still reeling from the brazenness and randomness of the attacks and because frustrated police couldn’t make an arrest sooner. The mother of a young man who was the second person killed wished police could have connected her son’s death to the case earlier, potentially taking Saucedo off the streets before more killings were committed. His case was only recently added to the serial killings investigation.
“If they would have looked more into it, looked closer to home, it would have prevented a lot of other deaths,” said Lydia Lopez, whose son Jesse Olivas, died on New Year’s Day 2016 in the neighborhood.
The hunt for the killer yielded more than 30,000 tips, and authorities said it was tipsters who provided the break in the case. They would not elaborate, and details of the evidence assembled against Saucedo were sealed by a judge at prosecutors’ request.
Witnesses described the shooter as a young, lanky Hispanic man who drove a BMW, helping authorities develop a sketch that bears a striking resemblance to Saucedo. Police said Saucedo stopped driving the BMW and changed his appearance after the final shooting.