An early-morning shooting and crash in Maryvale that left one man dead has led to two arrests, Phoenix police said Thursday, marking the first major turn in a case that has had neighbors watching patrol cars circle their streets for days.
Investigators spent the past week piecing together what happened on June 19, canvassing the west Phoenix neighborhood for witnesses and combing through evidence from the crash site. Police say the investigation is still very much active as detectives continue to track down leads.
Phoenix police Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez identified the two people arrested as 50-year-old Trinidad O Black and 29-year-old Trinidad Onika Brown. Black was booked on outstanding felony warrants and several felony drug charges, with bond set at $2,000. Brown was booked on a second-degree murder charge. The arrests followed searches at two Phoenix homes, according to Arizona's Family.
Victim Identified As Detectives Trace Final Moments
Police have identified the man who died as 48-year-old Otis Sueing Jr. Officers found him with gunshot wounds around 2 a.m. on June 19 on Weldon Avenue, near 43rd Avenue and Indian School Road. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Early information suggests Sueing was shot, then tried to drive away before crashing at the spot where officers ultimately found him, according to a Phoenix Police Department media advisory. The advisory also lists contact numbers for Silent Witness and the Phoenix Police Department for anyone who might have seen or heard something.
Search Warrants Serve As Break In The Case
Sgt. Fernandez said officers served search warrants at two Phoenix residences as part of the investigation, although she did not say what specific evidence led to the two arrests. Neighbors told local reporters they had noticed a stepped-up police presence in the days after the crash as detectives went door to door.
Those warrants and subsequent arrests were described as a significant development in a case that had remained unresolved since the June 19 crash, according to Arizona's Family.
What A Second-Degree Murder Charge Signals
Brown’s booking on a second-degree murder count falls under Arizona’s homicide laws, which define second-degree murder as causing someone’s death without premeditation under certain mental states. Under Arizona law, second-degree murder is classified as a Class 1 felony.
State statutes set the presumptive prison term and the calendar year range for sentencing in such cases. Those details are laid out in A.R.S. § 13-1104, available on Justia, and A.R.S. § 13-710 on Justia.
How The Public Can Help Investigators
The department’s advisory urges anyone with information to call Silent Witness at (480) WITNESS or the Phoenix Police Department at (602) 262-6151, as noted in a Phoenix Police Department advisory. Tips can be made anonymously, and detectives say even small details could help them connect the dots.
The arrests are the first known charges tied to the shooting and crash that left residents in the area asking hard questions about safety on their block. Police and prosecutors have not yet released additional information about upcoming court dates or the evidence collected as the case moves deeper into the criminal justice process.
