Man arrested, suspected of killing teen at barbecue in Phoenix
Phoenix police have arrested a man suspected of fatally shooting a 17-year-old outside a west Phoenix apartment complex last weekend.
Police arrested 24-year-old Alexander Martin Reyes on Wednesday and booked him into jail on suspicion of one count of second-degree murder.
On Saturday night, officers were dispatched at about 11:45 p.m. to an apartment complex near 39th Avenue and McDowell Road where they found 17-year-old Matthew Ballesteros suffering from gunshot wounds. He was taken to a hospital, where he was declared dead the next day.
Police said early information suggested that Ballesteros, Reyes and witnesses were together at the apartment complex's common area having a barbecue before the shooting occurred.
About 10 p.m. the evening of the shooting, a witness stated that Ballesteros left the barbecue and walked to a nearby apartment to borrow a cellphone to call his mother for a ride. He made statements to the occupant of the apartment that Reyes was not acting right and that he had loaded and unloaded his gun, according to police records.
At 10:30 p.m., Ballesteros returned to the apartment and told the occupant that Reyes had pointed his gun at him, according to witness statements to police.
Minutes after Ballesteros left the apartment, witnesses heard gunshots and saw the victim alone on the ground with gunshot wounds, according to police records.
Reyes said to a witness that he shot Ballesteros because he lied to him and did not love him, according to police records. Reyes then fled the complex on foot.
Reyes was on probation and barred from carrying a firearm, according to police.
On Wednesday, Phoenix police received a tip that Reyes was staying at a Phoenix residence, and he was arrested that afternoon near 91st Avenue and McDowell Road.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man arrested, suspected of killing teen at Phoenix barbecue
