Mesa police officers
arrested three suspects in connection with a violent crime spree that occurred on
the evening of August 11, 2023. 18-year-old Isaiah Ortiz and two other suspects,
under the age of eighteen, were booked into jail for various felony charges to
include assisting a criminal street gang. It all happened within a few minutes
as the three suspects managed to victimize 8 people, while traveling in a vehicle,
and using a firearm.
At 5:41pm, Mesa Police Officers responded to a shots fired call in the 1500 block of south Pima. Officers found multiple shell casings on the ground and a car with a bullet strike on its frame. The suspect vehicle was described as a black Kia Optima.
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| Bullet strike in victim vehicle |
At 5:44pm,
the Mesa Police Department’s Real Time Crime Center alerted officers to Guerrero
Rotary Park, where they saw three suspects get out of a black Kia and approach
two people in the park. One suspect, now known to be Ortiz, used a handgun to rob
the victims.
At 5:45pm,
just south of the park, a victim reported Ortiz pointed a gun at him and tried
to rob him. As the vehicle drove away, the victim and a witness reported
hearing shots fired.
Shortly after,
another victim told officers that one of the juvenile suspects asked him for
money and when he didn’t give him any, Ortiz put a gun to his neck and asked if
he wanted to die.
The spree
continued with two more victims telling officers that the black Kia drove left
of center and toward them while Oritz pointed a gun at them.
Mesa police
officers located the Kia and attempted to stop the car by activating their
patrol car lights and sirens, but the vehicle refused to pull over and fled the
scene. Ultimately, the vehicle became disabled after colliding with another vehicle
while turning in the roadway.
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| Suspect vehicle |
All three
suspects ran from the vehicle in three different directions, but amazingly, officers
were able to apprehend all three. Ortiz was found to have a self-inflicted gunshot
wound and required transportation to the hospital, he was also in possession of
a firearm. It was unclear when Ortiz received the injury.
Multiple
victims and witnesses identified the three suspects on scene as those who
committed the crimes.
Both juvenile
suspects were booked into Durango Juvenile Holding Facility.
On August 13, 2023, Isaiah Ortiz was released from the hospital and booked into jail, where he remains on a $150,000 bond. He was booked for the following charges.
·
5
counts- ARS 13-1904.A2- Armed Robbery, a class two felony
·
5
counts- ARS 13-1204.A2- Aggravated Assault, a class three felony
·
ARS
28-622.01- Unlawful Flight from Law Enforcement, a class five felony
·
ARS
13-2321.B- Assisting a Criminal Street Gang, a class three felony
·
ARS
13-1209A- Drive by Shooting, a class two felony
·
ARS
13-3107A- Unlawful Discharge of Firearm
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| Isaiah Ortiz Mug Shot |
