GLENDALE, Arizona — Glendale police have made an arrest in the murder of a family man who was killed during a home invasion in 2016.
Joseph Keller was taken into custody on April 25, just a couple of days past the eighth anniversary of Jose Sanchez's death at his family's residence near 57th Avenue and Camelback Road.
On the afternoon of April 22, 2016, a group of burglars barged into the family's residence and Sanchez sustained multiple gunshot wounds during the robbery.
Court records show police received a tip a few days after the crime that the vehicle used by the burglars had belonged to a person who was in a relationship with Keller. Detectives learned Keller was using this person's vehicle during the time when the homicide occurred.
Investigators allegedly recovered Keller's fingerprints in the victim's residence. Sanchez's family told police they didn't have any affiliation with Keller prior to the murder, so there should be no reason for his fingerprints to be in their home.
Public records show Keller was released from an Arizona prison in April 2023 after serving time for fraud and organized retail theft. He's now facing charges of murder and armed robbery for the 2016 incident.
Sanchez's family told 12News in 2017 that the victim was a dedicated father and grandfather who worked his way up to eventually attending truck driving school in order to give his family a better life.
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What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.