2 suspected charged with first-degree murder of man inside Family Dollar
Phoenix police arrested two suspects in a Tuesday assault at a Family Dollar store that left one man dead, according to authorities.
Steven Silva, 38, and Santiago Silva, 35, were arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of Augustine Garcia, 44, according to Phoenix police.
Phoenix police Sgt. Robert Scherer said police believed the Silvas to be related.
Arrest records for each of the men reveal an altercation between them and Garcia that eventually led inside the store.
At about 9 p.m. on Tuesday, police responded to emergency calls at the Family Dollar near 16th Avenue and Buckeye Road, where they found Garcia in a store aisle, suffering from physical trauma.
An officer administered life-saving measures to Garcia until emergency medical professionals arrived, but he died at the scene just before 9:30, as noted in the arrest records.
Phoenix police spoke with employees at the store and reviewed security camera footage as part of their investigation.
According to the arrest records, investigators discovered security camera footage showing two suspects identified by eyewitnesses as the Silvas. They arrived at the Family Dollar in separate vehicles, one of them armed with a AK-47-style assault rifle
Steven Silva arrived with an unknown female and put the AK-47 in the back of the vehicle before retrieving a car club that was used to beat Garcia.
Santiago Silva arrived in an unknown vehicle.
Eyewitnesses informed the police that the two groups were involved in a verbal altercation outside the store. Garcia later withdrew from the scene, and the two suspects followed him inside, inquiring with employees about Garcia's whereabouts.
Police stated that security camera footage depicted individuals believed to be the Silvas. It showed Garcia in the store aisle, where he was later discovered by the police. In the footage, Santiago Silva punched and stomped Garcia while Steven Silva struck him with a car club.
Both suspects then fled, one in a vehicle and the other by foot.
Police used a decal on the suspect's vehicle to locate a business where Steven Silva was an employee.
Steven Silva was arrested on Wednesday without incident after they located him and pulled him over.
Santiago Silva was arrested on Thursday at his residence. Both the Silvas face one count of first-degree murder and are being held on a $1,000,000 bond.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Police arrest 2 men in deadly assault at Phoenix Family Dollar
