A 17-year-old Phoenix teen used his final minutes of life to help solve his own murder, telling first responders the name and phone number of the man he believed had just shot him at a west Phoenix playground. Sincere D'Andre Venson died about an hour later at Banner University Medical Center, but the details he gave police became the backbone of a homicide case that has now landed two 18-year-old suspects in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office on charges of first-degree murder and armed robbery.
According to AZ Family, Phoenix police responded to reports of shots fired just after midnight near 81st Lane and Magnolia Street, in a residential area north of Lower Buckeye Road. A caller reported hearing multiple gunshots and seeing a black sedan with front-end damage speeding away from the scene. Officers found Venson in the sand at the playground suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, and before he was taken to the hospital, he identified Joshua Armstrong as the man he believed shot him, described Armstrong as driving a black BMW, and provided Armstrong's phone number through his own phone.
Venson told first responders he did not know who else was involved, per the outlet's report. That single identification set off a rapid investigation that, per the same account, led detectives to a second suspect, 18-year-old Luis Gonzalez, and a third man, Evan Cisneros, who was later detained alongside the pair but has not been charged in the case as of the station's report.
Surveillance Footage and a Second Phone Left Behind
Investigators pulled surveillance footage showing five people, including Venson, Armstrong and Gonzalez, walking toward the park, and separate footage showed a dark vehicle with front-end damage parking near the park before midnight, the station's report states. Witnesses told police there was no argument or dispute between Armstrong and Venson, and they described the shooting as unprovoked, saying Armstrong began shooting Venson as the two walked away from the group.
Investigators found a second phone in nearby grass that matched Armstrong's contact number, according to the same report, corroborating the number Venson had given first responders before he died. That kind of statement — made by someone who believes their death is imminent, describing the circumstances of that death — is treated as a recognized hearsay exception under Rule 804(b)(2) of the rules of evidence, since a dying person is presumed to have no reason to lie.
Conflicting Accounts of Who Fired the Fatal Shots
Gonzalez told investigators that Armstrong pointed a gun at Venson, demanded his firearm, and opened fire, and that Armstrong later told Gonzalez to check Venson's waistband, according to the AZ Family report. Gonzalez admitted he was at the park that night and said he took a silver-and-black firearm from Venson's body; witnesses reported seeing Gonzalez carrying that silver-and-black handgun, and investigators later found a photo on Venson's phone showing him holding a gun matching its description.
Armstrong, for his part, denied knowing Venson and claimed he had lost his phone at the park and returned only to find it, per the same account. But Cisneros reportedly told police that he had the murder weapon and that Armstrong still had a second gun taken from Venson's waistband. Armstrong reportedly said he had emptied his gun and killed Venson, and he requested an attorney after police told him Venson had identified him by name. The AZ Family report notes that Armstrong had gone into hiding at his father's home before his arrest.
Arrests in Tolleson and a Gun Tossed From a Vehicle
Police detained Armstrong, Gonzalez and Cisneros outside a home in nearby Tolleson. During the arrest, Cisneros reportedly tossed a firearm onto the driver's seat, and police found Armstrong carrying a gun in a bag. Detectives searched a Ford Escape at the scene and recovered a black handgun with a red grip that they believe was the weapon used to kill Venson, according to WENG. Witnesses also identified Armstrong and Gonzalez in photo lineups.
WENG reports that forensic investigators used a metal detector to recover physical shell casings buried in the sand of the playground area where officers first found Venson wounded, providing physical evidence to accompany the ballistics and photo-lineup identifications. Both Armstrong and Gonzalez were booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, and each had bond set at $1 million.
What Comes Next in Maricopa County Court
Under Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-1105, both suspects are being prosecuted as adults, and a first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory sentence of natural life imprisonment or life with eligibility for release after 25 to 35 years, per FindLaw's summary of Arizona's sentencing framework. The armed robbery counts against both men fall under A.R.S. § 13-1904, a Class 2 felony defined as taking or attempting to take property while armed with, using, or threatening a deadly weapon, according to Brian DiPietro Law, PLLC.
That same firm notes that Arizona's felony murder rule classifies any killing that occurs during the commission of a dangerous felony like armed robbery as first-degree murder, regardless of whether the killing was intentional or premeditated — a doctrine that could apply here if the shooting occurred during the forcible taking of Venson's firearm. It remains unclear whether Cisneros will face charges of his own in connection with the case.
A Familiar Scene in a Stretched West Phoenix Precinct
The playground sits within the Phoenix Police Department's Maryvale Estrella Mountain Precinct, formed in October 2014 and, per the City of Phoenix, one of the largest and busiest in the city, covering 76 square miles and handling roughly 20% of all police radio calls and reported violent crime citywide. Citywide homicides fell to about 151 in 2024, a 32% drop from a peak of 223 in 2022, according to Omnilert, even as the department reported more than 500 officer vacancies.
The neighborhood around 81st Lane and Magnolia Street falls within Phoenix City Council District 7, represented by Councilmember Anna Hernandez since April 2025. Hoodline previously covered the crime scene taping off two neighborhood streets and the playground equipment before suspects had been identified, and reported separately on another shooting in the surrounding Maryvale area near 79th Drive and Indian School Road. A similar case in August, in which a west Phoenix man's shooting death led to an upgraded homicide charge against a teen suspect weeks later, underscores how frequently west Phoenix precincts have contended with violent crime even as citywide numbers trend downward.
