In the early morning hours of April 21, 2018, a drug deal in west Phoenix turned deadly, claiming the life of 21-year-old Joshua Torres, a Hispanic male. The fatal encounter unfolded around 1:45 a.m. near the intersection of 83rd Avenue and Indian School Road. Torres, in the company of an associate, Kameron Taylor Johnson, had arranged to meet two individuals to sell illegal drugs.
During the transaction, the situation escalated violently, and the two suspects shot Torres.
He was discovered inside a vehicle, suffering from gunshot wounds, and was later pronounced dead. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Johnson reportedly fired shots at the fleeing suspects. The two unidentified men, described as African American, were last seen leaving the area in a light-colored sedan.
Following the incident, Kameron Taylor Johnson fled the scene but later surrendered to the police. He was subsequently arrested and faced a number of charges, including murder, discharging a firearm within city limits, possession of drugs for sale, and a weapons violation for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. The two men who directly shot Torres remained at large following the immediate investigation, with police seeking information from the public to aid in their apprehension.
