In the early morning hours of December 17, 2017, a visit to a local bar in Yuma, Arizona, turned fatal for Joseph Benjamin Roosevelt. The 37-year-old man was inside the Maverick Bar on South 4th Avenue when he was shot. First responders arrived at the scene shortly after 12:30 a.m. to find Roosevelt with a gunshot wound. He was quickly transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center, but his injuries proved too severe, and he was pronounced dead.
The Yuma Police Department immediately
launched an investigation into the shooting. It was determined that an altercation had occurred inside the bar, leading to the deadly encounter. Through their investigation, authorities identified 38-year-old Carlos Moreno Leal Jr. as the suspect. Police were able to locate Leal Jr. in the vicinity of the bar and take him into custody. It was reported that the two men were acquainted with each other, though a specific motive for the shooting was not immediately released.
Following his arrest, Carlos Moreno Leal Jr. was booked into the Yuma County Detention Center and faced a charge of first-degree murder for the death of Joseph Benjamin Roosevelt. The legal proceedings that followed culminated in Leal Jr. being convicted of first-degree murder. He was subsequently sentenced to serve a term of natural life in prison for the crime. An appeal was later filed concerning a restitution order for Roosevelt's funeral expenses, which had been paid by the Quechan Indian Tribe. The court ultimately upheld the restitution order.
