UPDATE, Sept. 18: Police say the third suspect, Francisco Solano Jr., 18, has been taken into custody. This story has been updated.CASA GRANDE, AZ — Francisco Solano Jr., 18, the third suspect in the shooting that wounded a 10-year-old girl Sept. 14 on Casa Grande Avenue, has been taken into custody, police said Friday. Two boys, ages 15 and 16, were taken into custody Tuesday afternoon in the first Casa Grande shooting arrests, and detectives identified both as alleged shooters, the department said.
When the teens’ arrests were announced, police described Solano as armed and dangerous and asked the public for help finding him. Friday’s brief update gave no details on how or where he was located.
Casa Grande shooting arrests follow community tips and video
Police Chief Mark McCrory said witness accounts and video from residents, plus footage from the department’s Safe City technology, which includes Flock cameras, gave detectives what they needed to work out who they believe was involved. He said that cooperation is why the arrests came so quickly. He noted that many other people were in the area when the shots were fired. “Two suspects are now in custody, and our work is not finished,” he said when the first arrests were announced.
Before the arrests in the Casa Grande shooting, police had released two videos showing four people they asked the public to help identify. Neither announcement has said whether any of the four are among the suspects.
Proposed charges
Police are referring proposed charges against both teens to the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, which will review them. For each teen, they include five counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, five counts of endangerment, one count of discharging a firearm at a residential structure, four counts of discharging a firearm at a non-residential structure, one count of discharging a firearm at an occupied structure in furtherance of a criminal street gang, and four other weapons-related counts: disorderly conduct with a weapon, two counts related to a minor possessing firearms, and unlawful discharge of a firearm in city limits. The 16-year-old also faces a proposed misconduct with weapons count; police allege he was a prohibited possessor. Friday’s update did not say what charges Solano may face.
How to help
Police ask anyone with credible information about the case to call Detective Tyler Miller at (520) 840-2824 or email [email protected]. Tips can also go to the department’s non-emergency line, (520) 421-8700, option 7, or anonymously to Silent Witness at (520) 836-2100.
