Evicted man fatally shot constable, manager and neighbor before dying by suicide in Arizona: police

An Arizona man being served eviction papers fatally shot the constable, the apartment manager and one of his neighbors before turning the gun on himself, police said.

Gavin Lee Stansell, 24, opened fire Thursday at his apartment complex in Tucson, cops said. Constable Deborah Martinez was there with apartment manager Angela Fox-Heath to serve the eviction notice.

A Pima County constable walks into the crime scene at the Lind Commons apartment complex. (Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star/)

Martinez, 43, and Fox-Heath, 28, were both shot dead at the scene, police said. Stansell died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

As cops examined the entire Lind Commons apartment complex, they found Stansell had also fatally shot his neighbor, 25-year-old Elijah Miranda.

Cops said it was unclear how Stansell managed to enter Miranda’s next-door apartment.

A landlord had filed court documents against Stansell saying he had previously threatened a neighbor with a gun. Stansell did not appear for a Monday hearing, during which a judge ruled that he’d violated the terms of his lease by disturbing the peace.

Tucson Police officers stand with an an honor guard as the body of Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez is loaded into a Pima County Medical Examiner van. (Kelly Presnell, Arizona Daily Star/)

“The loss of Constable Deborah Martinez is felt across our state,” Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said in a press release. “Whether it was serving in the U.S. Army or carrying out her duties as a constable for Pima County, she dedicated her life to helping others and her community.”

Martinez served 16 years in the Army, joining up after the 9/11 attacks. She took over the constable job in February after ex-constable Kristen Randall resigned over the eviction process. In her resignation letter, Randall called it an “archaic position” that had become “a force of pain and destruction.”

With News Wire Services