In the early morning hours of July 3, 2020, Joseph Benjamin Toki, a 35-year-old male, tragically lost his life during an armed robbery at a Circle K convenience store in Scottsdale, Arizona. The incident was part of a violent crime spree that had begun earlier that night.
The series of events started when a man, later identified as 38-year-old Robert Blackwater, attempted to rob the Circle K located near 81st Street and Indian School Road.
Blackwater entered the store at approximately 2:40 a.m. and fired several shots at the clerk, who managed to escape unharmed through a back door. It was at this moment that Joseph Toki walked into the store and was fatally shot by Blackwater.
Waiting outside in a car was a friend of Toki's. After shooting Toki, Blackwater exited the store and began firing at the friend, who was still in his vehicle. The friend, who has not been publicly named, got out of his car and returned fire with his own handgun. In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, Blackwater was struck and died at the scene. Toki's friend sustained serious injuries and was transported to a local hospital.
Investigations by the Scottsdale Police Department revealed that Blackwater was not acting alone. Evidence showed that a second suspect, 32-year-old Bryan Washington, was waiting for Blackwater in a vehicle parked at the side of the business. Washington was located and arrested on the afternoon of July 3rd. He faced charges of first-degree murder and armed robbery. The deadly encounter at the Circle K was the culmination of a crime spree by Blackwater, who was connected to two other armed robberies in the Valley that same night, one in Scottsdale and another in Mesa.
