'My son was taken away from me': Man gets 8 years in prison for 2020 Phoenix homicide

A Superior Court judge sentenced Kyle David Petty to eight years in prison as part of a plea agreement in the 2020 shooting death of 30-year-old Jose Molina in a west Phoenix neighborhood.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Warren Granville sentenced Petty, 34, following a half-hour hearing in Phoenix's Central Court Building on Tuesday.

Court records show Molina's death stemmed from Petty becoming upset and provoked over Molina's friend not giving him money.

After being arrested, Petty was initially charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault and attempted armed robbery. However, in August, he signed a plea agreement to one count of manslaughter.

At Tuesday's sentencing, Molina's mother and sister showed up for him, and they gave an emotional testimony about how their lives had changed since losing him.

"My son was taken away from me. It's not normal, it's not logical," Consuelo Garcia, Molina's mother, told the court through a Spanish interpreter at the hearing.

Just over half a dozen members of Petty's family and friends also showed up in court to support him. Nne of them spoke to the court, but they comforted one another through side embraces on a gallery bench during the hearing.

Members of Molina's and Petty's families declined to comment after the sentencing. Though in passing, a family member of Petty's told The Arizona Republic that justice was not served.

Some court documents filed by Petty's defense in the past argued that he was not the one who pulled the trigger on Molina based on crime scene evidence, something Petty briefly touched on when he spoke at Tuesday's hearing.

This case is one of nearly 40 that were worked on by former Phoenix police detective Jennifer Diponzio, who was later found to have multiple allegations of misconduct — some minor, but others involving the mishandling of evidence and failing to interview key witnesses.

Prosecutors also told Petty's defense that they had to test additional evidence in the case as late as this year, as DiPonzio "did not test certain items in this case," according to a May court filing by Petty's defense counsel.

What court records say happened in 2020

According to Petty's presentence report, Phoenix police stated that around 3 a.m. on July 23, 2020, a woman reported she was leaving a Motel 6 near 51st Avenue and McDowell Road in a car when Petty spoke to her in the parking lot. She told police she knew him as an unhoused person for nearly one year.

Court records show that Petty asked the woman to give him a ride, though he became aggressive in doing so and lifted his shirt to show her he had a firearm on his waist.

Molina, a friend of the woman, got into the passenger side of the car. Petty got in the back seat.

Petty then told the woman where to go and to park her car on the side of the road, court records stated. He asked for her phone, but she did not give it to him.

Petty demanded money from her, court records show, but the woman refused. Petty then got out of the car near 91st and Whyman avenues and told the woman to also get out, according to court records. She told police she got out because she knew he had a weapon.

Court records stated Petty then pointed the gun at the woman. In response, Molina yelled out, "No" to him from the car. Petty pointed the gun at Molina and fired, hitting him once, according to court records.

Petty told the woman to take Molina to the hospital, and he walked away from the scene, court records show. The woman drove away in the car, called 911, and flagged down a nearby police car for help near 91st Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road.

Molina was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

Police later found Petty around the area and took him into custody. Court records showed that police found he had an empty gun holster and brass knuckles. Police were unable to find a gun in the area, court records stated.

Petty initially told police that he lived on the street and had asked someone to take him to a restaurant, according to court records.

Defense argues that evidence suggests Petty was not shooter

In a court document filed last year, Petty's defense counsel argued there was some evidence that suggested he was not the one who pulled the trigger.

Rather, it may have been the woman involved in the incident, according to the document.

Last August, Petty's defense counsel received the results of the gunshot residue test that was performed on him after the shooting. According to the court document, results stated there were "no particles characteristic of gunshot residue detected" on Petty after he was arrested.

The document stated police officers did not conduct such a test on the woman involved in the incident, who they say was the only eyewitness to what happened.

Petty's defense counsel also received the expert opinion of Dutch Johnson, who worked in forensic biomechanics. Counsel stated in the court document that Johnson concluded based on the police reports, body-worn camera footage, lab results, Molina's autopsy, and more, that the woman was "more likely than not" the shooter responsible for Molina's death.

Other details in the document included the woman having "extreme" credibility issues based on her criminal record, how well she actually knew Petty, and conflicting accounts of what occurred the morning of the shooting.

Grieving families: One for Molina's death, the other for injustice

Garcia, Molina's mom, and her daughter expressed in words and heavy tears at Tuesday's sentencing how much they missed Molina, who they said was a great son, brother, dad and uncle.

Garcia spoke of the hardships Molina grew up with. However, he grew up taking great care of her and his family, she said.

But his absence from their lives, Garcia said, harmed their family — of which she said Petty did not understand the extent.

"This man doesn't know what terrible harm he's caused. He didn't just take a life, he didn't just take the life of my son, he took mine too."

Molina's sister, Guadalupe Nickerson, also spoke to the court, saying it was unfair that Petty's projected sentence was smaller since he signed a plea agreement.

"Her pain is my pain," Nickerson said, of how the death affected her and Garcia.

Petty also made a statement to the court, clarifying with a tone of minor frustration, that he did not sign the plea agreement to say that he took Molina's life. Rather, he signed it saying that he left his property in the car and was an accomplice liability.

"I didn't pull the trigger," Petty said, adding that he is not the one who can be blamed.

He said some of the things said in the courtroom Tuesday made him sound like he was some sort of monster that took another person's life.

"But there is another monster out there that took his life," Petty said. He later added, "And I'm the one that's going to do time for this. They're not even going to go after this person, they don't even care. There's no justice."

This reporting follows crimes The Republic began to cover in 2021 and is part of our commitment to telling the story from start to finish.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kyle Petty sentenced to prison in death of Jose Molina