PHOENIX - Phoenix residents are demanding a safer community after a recent rise in violence in their neighborhoods following the murder of 36-year-old Joshua Fitzpatrick.
The man accused of killing him, Curtis Bagley, has a lengthy criminal history.
It's a busy timeline since he was released from prison, just two weeks before the murder, after serving nearly three years for burglary.
Bagley has since had multiple run-ins with police including arrests
all within the past month.
In the past decade, Bagley has been arrested 36 times.
He was also not on parole or probation and was back to living on streets leading up to the murder.
According to Chief Jeri Williams of the Phoenix Police Department, Bagley had multiple contacts with police department in the weeks following his release.
That includes getting taken into police custody right outside 12 News’ studio in Downtown Phoenix for displaying erratic behavior.
On Wednesday, neighbors from the Roosevelt District came together at Phoenix City Hall to discuss concerns over the murder and the rising homeless population across the county.
One neighbor said, “I just don’t understand … when they did a mental health evaluation on him and they realized he was crazy, why was he thrown back out on the streets?”
Another neighbor expressed the same thought.
“It is tragic somebody has to lose their life for us to be here," she said.
Fitzpatrick was stabbed to death while defending his wife after Bagley broke into the home near third avenue and McDowell Saturday morning, attacking the couple as they slept, according to police.
The panel of speakers included city leaders like the mayor and the Phoenix chief of police, who said the department is doing everything they legally can to combat homeless criminals.
“Thirty-six times we arrested the guy. It didn’t work, so my challenge to us, to you, quite frankly, what can we do as a community to impact his problem?” said Chief Williams.
Court records show Bagley has a history of mental illness and has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. 12 News asked the medical facility that cared for the suspect before the murder about his release – but we were denied because of privacy laws.