Mesa man was fatally stabbed after drug deal, police say. A 21-year-old was arrested

Mario Reymundo Ortiz of Mesa is accused of killing a man in the man's home on Feb. 4 after the two reportedly carried out an illicit drug sale, according to Maricopa County court documents.

Police arrested Ortiz, 21, on suspicion of second-degree murder, armed robbery and first-degree burglary.

Mesa police went to Desert Villa Inn and Apartments for a welfare check shortly after 8 a.m. on Feb. 4, according to court documents obtained by The Arizona Republic. Officers found Kenneth Gordon dead inside a room with three stab wounds in his upper thigh that caused him to bleed out.

Court documents indicate that officers determined Gordon had a cell phone, but it was not found inside his apartment. Officers also did not see any sharp objects in the apartment that could have caused the wounds.

Mesa police obtained surveillance footage from different locations of the complex and saw Ortiz knocking on Gordon's door before going inside at about 1 a.m., according to court records. The door was next opened at 2:15 a.m., and the main living area could be seen.

Minutes later, a substance officers believed to be Gordon's blood was seen pooling on the floor, court records state. Ortiz left and came back to the room before leaving for good, walking south. Nobody else entered Gordon's room until police arrived, according to court documents.

Officers obtained the call detail records for Gordon's phone, which showed phone numbers related to Ortiz were called after he left the scene. The phone tracked cell towers in Chandler and Phoenix, where Ortiz's mother and grandparents lived. Court documents indicate Ortiz was experiencing homelessness.

At his family's residence, officers found and arrested Ortiz, who had already had an active parole violation warrant from a previous case. He was taken to a Mesa Police Department Jail and interviewed after being read his Miranda Rights.

The documents say Ortiz told police he and Gordon met at a bus stop where Gordon asked him for illegal drugs. They walked to a nearby apartment — not the same one where the killing took place — to carry out the sale. Gordon returned to his apartment and was later joined by Ortiz to hang out, according to what documents say is Ortiz's recollection.

Ortiz said that at one point, he tried to use Gordon's phone, and he forcefully took the phone away. Ortiz then said that Gordon "freaked out" and came at Ortiz without a weapon, causing Ortiz to push him away, according to the documents.

Ortiz said he did not have a knife and did not know how Gordon was stabbed. He stated that he left the apartment after Gordon was bleeding and went back to take his phone so he could call for a ride home.

Ortiz was booked into a Maricopa County jail on suspicion of second-degree murder, armed robbery and first-degree burglary, the documents stated. He was awaiting a trial.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mesa resident Kenneth Gordon fatally stabbed after drug deal