TUCSON, Ariz. — Joseph Brandon Gourley, 45, has been arrested on charges of 1st degree murder after crashing a truck into another driver, allegedly shooting his girlfriend who was in the vehicle with him at the time, and then fleeing from the scene.
Initially, officers from Operations Division East in Tucson responded to the intersection of East 5th Street & North Wilmot Road for reports of a crash between a Dodge truck and a Kia Soul.
Witnesses of the crash told officers they saw a man leaving the truck on foot and heading away from the area.
When officers investigated the crash they found 36-year-old Jessica Garcia unresponsive in the truck with signs of a gunshot wound.
Garcia, who was later identified as Gourley's girlfriend, was transported to St. Joseph's hospital along with the two occupants of the Kia Soul.
Officials said she was pronounced dead soon after arriving at the hospital.
At the scene of the crash, officers set up a perimeter to search the area and found Gourley in a nearby yard.
Over the course of the investigation, interviews and evidence revealed that Gourley had been driving the Dodge at the time of the crash, and shot Garcia as he was exiting the vehicle, police said.
Gourley has been booked at the Pima County Jail on charges of 1st degree murder, and potentially other charges as the investigation continues.
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