A 16-year-old is facing murder charges in a November shooting that killed a man at a Glendale business.
The suspect was taken into custody during the homicide investigation into the Nov. 5 shooting death of Brandon Tukes, 23, of Des Moines, Iowa, according to Glendale police and charging documents.
Tukes was shot and killed in the early morning hours during a shootout that injured two others at an establishment serving as a tattoo parlor and barber shop near 51st Avenue and Camelback Road. The two surviving shooting victims include a 14-year-old whose foot was wounded, according to court documents that do not indicate who is suspected of shooting them.
The suspect was arrested on Nov. 9 while he visited with one of the surviving shooting victims recovering at a hospital. Detectives who were there to question the victim recognized the suspect from surveillance footage, court documents state.
The suspect admitted to police he was involved in the shooting, after he was read his juvenile Miranda’s rights and was interviewed by detectives with his parent present, according to court documents. He told police he acted in self-defense when he fired one to two rounds in the direction of a wall.
Court documents state the murder investigation found multiple comments on social media suggesting Tukes’ killing was in retaliation to a homicide he was accused of committing.
“Numerous Facebook posts were located suggesting V1 (Tukes) committed a homicide in Phoenix in December of 2021,” court documents state, later adding that “V1 was not listed as suspect in the Phoenix PD reports.”
The court documents, which included a probable cause statement describing the incident, draw from video surveillance footage.
According to court documents, Tukes was armed and the surviving shooting victim at the hospital told detectives the man was challenging him to a fight, telling him those surrounding him at the business were “on his side.” Tukes tried swinging at this shooting victim, proceeding to hit him, according to court documents.
“Throughout the party, he (Tukes) seemed to exchange words with V2 (surviving shooting victim Tukes is said to have threatened) in a manner that would suggest the two were not amicable with one another,” court documents state.
Shortly after, the victim pulled a firearm and shot at Tukes and the homicide victim went limp and began rolling to his side, according to charging documents. Tukes was pronounced dead at the scene, court documents say.
Another armed individual began shooting his firearm, but it is not clear whether this shooter or the murder suspect struck the shooting victim Tukes is said to have threatened, according to court documents. The second shooter, who was found through his license plate number as captured on surveillance footage, was released by detectives when he told them he fired at the murder suspect after he shot at him, court documents say.
There were upwards of a dozen witnesses to the incident who spoke with police, but none said they saw who fired a gun, according to court documents.
The suspect, whose identity was not released by police because he is underage, was charged with second-degree murder and minor in possession of firearm when not accompanied by parent or guardian, a felony 6 charge, according to Glendale police.
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