El Paso County murder suspect arrested in Salt Lake City soccer game shooting
A man accused of a wounding two people when he fired into a crowd during a soccer game at a Salt Lake City park last month is suspected of killing his neighbor in El Paso County earlier this year, authorities said.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office last week obtained an arrest warrant on a murder charge for 33-year-old Steven Matthew Macias, who allegedly told Salt Lake City police about the homicide after being arrested in the park shooting.
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Macias is accused in the death of 50-year-old Jose Luis "Joe" Arvizu on Jan. 4 in the 100 block of Brooks Avenue in Canutillo, sheriff's officials said.
During a lengthy investigation, El Paso County sheriff's detectives traveled to Salt Lake City after Macias allegedly told police that he had fled to Utah after he shot and killed his neighbor in Texas, according to sheriff's officials and news reports from Utah.
An obituary for Arvizu stated he died on Jan. 4, about a week before his 51st birthday. Details on the homicide have not been disclosed.
Macias is jailed without bond in Salt Lake City in the soccer game case and is pending extradition to El Paso on the murder warrant, which has a $2 million bond, sheriff's officials said.
2 wounded, more than 20 rounds fired during soccer game at park
There were about 30 people, including children and young adults, on the field or watching a soccer game when Macias allegedly opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle on the evening of May 1 at a park in Salt Lake City, according to police and court records.
A 65-year-old man had been sitting in his truck when he was joined by Macias in drinking beers and watching the game, the Salt Lake Tribune reported, citing court records.
The man, who told police he was "super drunk," later fell asleep and was awakened by Macias, who demanded to know about his "missing money," which the man knew nothing about, the Tribune reported.
A witness told police that they saw a man near the soccer field "asking a kid who was sitting on the benches if he had seen his money" just before the shooting began, the Deseret News reported.
Macias allegedly grabbed a rifle from his SUV and shot the man in the pickup before turning and firing more than 20 shots into the crowd on the soccer field, critically injuring a 21-year-old man, who was hit in the chest, Salt Lake City police stated. During the shooting, a rifle round also hit a passing car.
Macias allegedly drove off and threw away the rifle. The next morning, the Utah Highway Patrol took him into custody after he called police saying that he had information about the shooting, police reported.
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The Tribune reported that Macias allegedly told investigators that he was "intoxicated" after drinking "multiple beers" and that he started shooting because he was upset about his "missing money."
Macias, who jail records show is a U.S. citizen born in California, faces 25 felony charges related to the soccer game shooting, the Tribune reported.
Macias allegedly told police he had been in Utah for a couple of months after killing his neighbor in Texas earlier this year.
An El Paso County Jail log lists no previous arrests for Macias in El Paso County.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso-area murder suspect arrested in Salt Lake City park shooting
