In the fading light of a Thursday evening in Tucson, Arizona, a tragedy unfolded at Lakeside Park that would claim the lives of three young men. On November 8, 2018, 16-year-old Amonn Sandoval went to the park for a meeting that spiraled into deadly violence. He, along with 21-year-old Matthew Favela and 16-year-old Carlos Ross, would not survive the encounter.
The incident began when Favela and Ross, accompanied by two friends, drove to the park to meet with Sandoval and another unidentified male.
Shortly after the two groups met in the west parking lot, a brief conversation escalated into an exchange of gunfire. When the shooting ceased, Favela, Ross, and Sandoval lay wounded. The chaos of the moment sent the unidentified male who had arrived with Sandoval fleeing the scene before police could arrive. The two friends who had been in the car with Favela and Ross remained, uninjured, and spoke with detectives who were soon on the scene. Despite the immediate medical attention provided by a community member and responding officers, one of the victims was pronounced dead at the park. The other two, including Sandoval, were rushed to Banner University Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, but both succumbed to their wounds shortly after their arrival.
The Tucson Police Department launched an investigation into the triple homicide. Although gang detectives assisted, the shooting was not believed to be gang-related. The investigation led to the identification and arrest of three teenage suspects. Fifteen-year-old Filomeno Edwardo Flores turned himself in to the police on November 30. Maki Dion Riley, 16, was arrested on December 4, followed by the arrest of 16-year-old Aaron Rodriguez the next day. All three were charged with first-degree murder.
The legal proceedings that followed brought a measure of resolution to the case. Filomeno Edwardo Flores pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit armed robbery and was sentenced to seven years of probation with electronic monitoring. Maki Dion Riley pleaded guilty to manslaughter and also received seven years of probation. Aaron Rodriguez was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to five years in prison.
