KGUN 9NewsCommunity Inspired JournalismNorthside News

Actions

UPDATE: Suspects in pawn shop shooting found via GPS in Phoenix area

Northside deadly pawn shop shooting.png
Posted
and last updated

UPDATE 9:20 a.m. (6/23)

An interim complaint obtained by KGUN 9 sheds more light on the shooting that took place on Friday.

According to the complaint, the suspects, David Javier Maldonado and Amari Taivonne Harris had visited Quick Trip Pawn earlier in the day. They spoke with the manager of the pawn shop about firearms and Maldonado pawned an item. They then went to a second pawn shop, Catalina Pawn Shop, and left without incident at about 12:30 p.m.

Harris had rented the car they were driving, a silver Toyota Prius, the report said.

Harris and Maldonado returned to Harris' home where Maldonado changed clothes. His daughter noted that he looked like he was going to commit a theft, the report said.

Harris and Maldonado returned to Quick Trip Pawn at just after 2 p.m.

Security video shows Maldonado entering the store, producing a firearm and discharging it into the ceiling, the report said.

Shop employee Anthony Tarli, armed with a pistol, exchanged gunfire with Maldonado and was shot during the exchange. He took cover.

Francisco Vejar, a customer in the store, also took cover on the west end of the store. Maldonado noticed Vejar while Maldonado was removing guns from a display case. Maldonado reached over the counter and shot Vejar in the head, the report said.

The manager, who was in the back of the store, heard the gunfire, saw gun smoke and went out the back door to retrieve a gun from his vehicle. He went around the building and was entering through the front door, when he saw Maldonado leaving. At the time, he did not know Maldonado was the shooter.

The manager saw Maldonado get into the passenger side of a Prius before the car drove off.

The manager and an arriving customer went inside and located the victims, the report said.

Vejar was pronounced dead at the scene. Tarli was transported to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries, the report said.

Officers determined that the Prius involved was rented in Chandler. They used GPS tracking to determine it was at the pawn shop at the time of the shooting. The vehicle was located in Glendale, along with Maldonado, Harris and Maldonado's daughter.

The daughter identified photos of Harris and Maldonado taken from security footage. She also noted the clothes the man was wearing in the security footage were the same clothes worn by her father before the shooting, the report said.

Harris told police he didn't know about the homicide, but he did know about the guns, the report said.

Harris said that he was scared of Maldonado, who was acting like he was on drugs and had possibly stolen his gun, the report said.

Witnesses in Glendale said that Harris said he had been in a robbery, and attempted to sell at least one of the guns to a local smoke shop.

Maldonado did not provide a statement, the complaint said.

Maldonado was found with a black duffle bag that resembled the bag seen on security footage. The bag contained multiple firearms and several were confirmed to have come from the robbery, the complaint said.

Police also found three firearms at Harris' home with serial numbers that matched the numbers from the pawn shop robbery, the report said.

UPDATE 7:30 a.m. (6/23)

Two people are dead and two are in custody after a shooting at a pawn shop on the Northside Friday afternoon, according to Tucson Police.

TPD says a suspect entered the store Friday afternoon and started shooting at 47-year-old Anthony David Tarli, an employee. Tarli shot back, but was hit. He later died in the hospital.

Police say the suspect then started stealing guns, and shot and killed 49-year-old Francisco Vejar before leaving the store.

44-year-old David Javier Maldonado and 23-year-old Amari Taivonne Harris were arrested later that night in Glendale. They were brought back to Tucson, where they're being held in the Pima County Jail.

Both are charged with two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, armed robbery and robbery.

————————

One is dead and another is in the hospital with life-threatening injuries following a shooting at a Northside pawn shop.

Just after 2 p.m. on Friday, Tucson Police Department officers responded to a report of a shooting at 1110 W Prince Road.

Once on the scene, officers pronounced one adult male victim dead. Another adult male has life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital.

According to TPD, a large-scale search was conducted, but no suspect has been located.

TPD’s homicide unit is continuing the investigation.

We will continue to keep you updated as more information becomes available.