Maricopa Police Department has made a fourth arrest, this time a 17-year-old boy, in connection with the Nov. 22 murder of a 16-year-old during an armed robbery.
“At the scene, witnesses reported a group of individuals running from the area,” the MPD spokeswoman Monica Williams said today of the slaying on Dirk Street in the Maricopa Meadows.
“The group met with two people under the pretense of purchasing vape cartridges,” Williams said. “During the incident, the juveniles, who were armed with handguns, assaulted the sellers. During that armed robbery and assault, one of the juvenile suspects discharged a firearm. The bullet struck and fatally wounded another juvenile involved in the robbery.”
InMaricopa had previously reported that the murder occurred during an armed robbery.
Isaiah Bandin, 15, is charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery in connection with the killing of Esteban Valenzuela. Bandin and a 15-year-old girl were arrested Nov. 28, and a third child, a 16-year-old boy, was arrested with ties to the homicide case Dec. 4.
Bandin was arraigned before a Pinal County Superior Court judge last week after he was advised in juvenile court to plead not guilty to the class-one felony charges, court records show. The documents revealed that Bandin was armed while robbing a victim, Sergio Michael Munoz, 16, “using threats or force against” him before the weapon was discharged.
Bandin is being held in the Pinal County Youth Justice Detention Center on a $1 million cash bond. He was indicted on the charges in the superior court Dec. 9.
“In this case, the juveniles involved in the armed robbery may face felony murder charges, as the death occurred as a direct result of their participation in a dangerous and unlawful act,” Williams stated. “This will be determined by the Pinal County Attorney’s Office.”
The most recent arrestee, the 17-year-old boy, has been taken into custody and booked into the Pinal County Juvenile Detention Center, the authorities said. They did not release the nature of his charges.
