A 49-year-old Scottsdale man allegedly beat a neighbor, got hit twice in the face with a claw hammer, and then came back on a bicycle with a 9mm handgun and fired 10 rounds into an apartment complex — all because, police say, he was offended that his neighbors turned down the cocaine he offered them. Samuel Ellery Sedgwick now faces a long list of felony charges stemming from the Thursday morning rampage near Miller and Osborn roads.
According to FOX 10 Phoenix, Scottsdale police were dispatched to the apartment complex around 10:45 a.m. on October 15 after Sedgwick allegedly entered a neighbor's unit uninvited while in what investigators described as an altered state. Court documents cited by the station say Sedgwick offered cocaine to the occupants, and when they declined, he told investigators the refusal was offensive to his culture.
What followed, per the same court records, escalated quickly. Sedgwick allegedly assaulted one man with his fists and feet, prompting a second occupant to strike him twice in the face with a claw hammer. He then allegedly pulled a Glock 45 9mm handgun from his backpack, threatened to murder the people in the apartment, struck the injured man across the head with the weapon, and sprayed mace throughout the unit. The hammer blows reportedly chipped one of Sedgwick's teeth; after leaving the scene, he allegedly saw the damage in a mirror at his apartment and said that no one chips his tooth and gets away with it.
Suspect Allegedly Returned With a Gun and Opened Fire
Sedgwick then left the scene and came back on a bicycle, this time firing 10 rounds from the apartment complex's north alleyway, according to the court documents referenced by FOX 10 Phoenix. The gunfire struck a neighboring apartment unit and a covered parking structure, and one bullet pierced a window and lodged in the ceiling of an apartment whose resident was not home at the time.
Scottsdale officers happened to spot Sedgwick riding away on his bicycle as the shots were being fired and arrested him at a neighboring community within minutes. Officer Aaron Bolin said responding officers quickly apprehended Sedgwick with support from patrol, bike, street crimes, K9 and special assignments units — part of the specialized operational teams the Scottsdale Police Department deploys across its three geographic districts and 20 patrol beats. Officers recovered a loaded Glock 45 9mm handgun beside a dumpster.
Welfare Checks, Medical Response and a Search Warrant
Scottsdale Fire Department personnel took Sedgwick and one assault victim to a hospital.
One victim was taken to the hospital for a head injury and possible broken ribs, per the court documents cited by FOX 10 Phoenix. Sedgwick was treated for facial injuries from the hammer strikes before being booked into Maricopa County jail. A subsequent search warrant turned up matching ammunition, pepper gel spray and a plastic bag containing white powder inside Sedgwick's apartment, the station reported.
Prohibited Possessor Admission Adds to Legal Exposure
Sedgwick reportedly admitted to investigators that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of past felony convictions. Under Arizona law, possessing a gun as a prohibited possessor is a Class 4 felony that can carry up to 3.75 years in prison for a first-time offense, according to the Law Office of Daniel Hutto. Investigators have said Sedgwick and the victims already knew each other, though they have not clarified the exact nature of that relationship.
FOX 10 reported that Sedgwick faced multiple felony charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and firing a gun at a building. Firing a gun at a nonresidential structure in Arizona is a Class 3 felony under state law regardless of whether the building is occupied, according to the Salwin Law Group.
Shannon's Law and the Path to Prison
The municipal discharge charge falls under what's known as Shannon's Law, a Class 6 felony statute enacted in 1999, according to the CHM Law firm. If prosecutors designate the aggravated assault charge a dangerous offense, Arizona sentencing guidelines eliminate probation eligibility and require mandatory prison time, per the Litwak Law Group.
A Maricopa County judge set Sedgwick's bond at $100,000. Under Maricopa County procedures, any bond must be posted in person at the Fourth Avenue Jail Bond and Fine Room in Phoenix, with release processing typically taking up to 24 hours after payment, according to the Ybarra Maldonado Law Group. Sedgwick remains in custody and is scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing on October 26.
