Man arrested in connection with fatal Phoenix shooting, tells police gun fired on its own, records state

A 24-year-old was arrested on Monday after fleeing from police multiple times following the fatal shooting of another man, court documents state.

At about 5:17 p.m. on Sunday, officers with the Phoenix Police Department responded to South 36th and West Tamarisk avenues as Phoenix fire crews were treating a man. The man, identified as Henry Smalley, 51, was not breathing and had apparent head trauma, according to court documents.

Smalley was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead at 5:47 p.m. Doctors said he had a gunshot wound behind his right ear.

Several calls poured in from neighbors in the area after hearing the initial gunshot, with the original 911 caller attempting to contact Smalley at his home only to find him lying in the roadway upon leaving the residence, documents said.

Investigators at the scene recovered Smalley's identification card, eyeglasses and cell phone, which a witness said were found on the ground near his body.

Surveillance video from a nearby business showed a Honda Pilot entering the business' parking lot. Officers used this to identify Jiovani Gortarez as the suspect in the shooting, according to court records.

Documents state that Gortarez, who the business owner recognized as the son of a regular customer, had tried to enter the business, which was locked. Gortarez then got back into his vehicle and began to drive west on Tamarisk Road before stopping in the roadway, where Smalley could be seen walking in the video.

Surveillance video shows Smalley approached Gortarez's car and Gortarez exited the vehicle, according to court documents. Moments later, Smalley was seen stumbling away from Gortarez and collapsing in the street.

After identifying Gortarez with the business owners' help, detectives found that he lived less than half a mile from where Smalley was found shot, according to court records.

Police found that the phone originally believed to belong to Smalley was actually Gortarez, documents state.

According to court documents, investigators obtained a tracking warrant and began watching Gortarez's vehicle.

Investigators attempted to contact Gortarez at a residence near South 41st Avenue, where they believed he was. However, additional investigators tracking his vehicle saw it head to multiple other locations. Undercover officials tracked the vehicle and saw Gortarez head toward Tempe Marketplace, where he was walking with a woman. He then got into a different vehicle and left the area.

Court documents state that undercover officers continued to tail the car until it stopped near Interstate 17 and Cactus Road, where Gortarez was taken into custody.

In a post-Miranda interview, Gortarez told officers that he and Smalley had gotten into a verbal altercation that turned physical. However, Gortarez said he did not shoot Smalley, adding that the gun had fired on its own after he pulled it out, according to court records.

Gortarez was booked into jail on $1 million bond and was facing one count of second-degree murder.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man arrested in connection with fatal Phoenix shooting