PHOENIX — A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of being involved in murdering a man as the victim was driving around Phoenix with his family to look at Christmas lights.
Eduardo Uzueta, 28, was fatally shot on the night of Dec. 8 in the 6600 block of West Fillmore Street, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
Court records show Uzueta and his girlfriend had taken their two kids to look at Christmas lights in a local neighborhood.
Uzueta parked his car to get out and smoke when a group of men approached him. The victim's girlfriend told police the other men started assaulting Uzueta and firing multiple gunshots.
"They had no contact with the group of males prior to the shooting, had never seen any of them before and did nothing to provoke them," Phoenix police wrote in a statement.
Uzueta later died from his injuries.
Investigators retrieved a cell phone left behind at the scene of the shooting and found text messages that led police to a group of suspects.
The owner of the cell phone had been sending messages suggesting they were planning to meet at Sunridge Park to commit armed robberies, records show.
On Dec. 16, police arrested 19-year-old Isaiah Joshua Nash on suspicion of being involved in Uzueta's death.
One of the other suspects told police Nash was allegedly trying to rob Uzueta when the shooting occurred, records show.
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