Police arrested two men in connection with a shootout at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix hotel that left one dead and seven other injured more than a week ago.
Reymel Autreall Latre, 21, and Camron Anderson, 18, face eleven serious attacks each, according to records from the Maricopa County Superior Court. Latre also faces a banned person’s possession of a weapon count and hinders law enforcement, records show.
A likely explanation the Phoenix police presented to the court said that both Phoenix men were involved in the shooting just after midnight on May 9 in an elevator at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix hotel near Second and Monroe Streets.
The two men belonged to two separate groups of people who got into the elevator to attend a big party on the seventh floor of the hotel. Police believe there were a total of 12 people in the elevator, Phoenix police spokesman Sgt.Andy Williams told the Republic of Arizona on Tuesday.
Williams also said the event was a birthday party.
Gunfire breaks out in the elevator
At some point there was an argument between the two groups in the elevator. However, the police don’t yet know what the dispute was about, Williams said. According to court records, Anderson “called one of the victims” in the elevator and then other occupants of the elevator produced handguns and released cartridges.
The victim, “originally challenged by … Anderson, was hit by gunfire but survived,” court documents say.
A total of six men and one woman between 18 and 22 years old with non-life-threatening injuries were taken to the hospital, the police said earlier. Two of those seven people stayed in the hospital Tuesday morning, Williams said.
Another man, later identified as 21-year-old Jaziah Shakor Causey, was also shot in and died on the scene. No one has been arrested in connection with his death, Williams confirmed for the Republic on Tuesday.
Police checked surveillance footage showed Latre and Anderson got on the elevator and later escaped from the elevator to the lobby after the shooting together with the other parties involved according to court records. Anderson was seen running away with a pistol in his right hand.
The footage also showed Latre shortly returning to the elevatorAfter the shooting, he contacted another person who had two guns on the floor in the lobby, and Latre picked up those guns. Latre then walked away from the lobby and picked up a magazine for one of the guns, court documents said.
Phoenix Police said in court documents that several handguns and cases of varying caliber were found at the scene. Several elevator occupants also admitted to having guns, police said in court documents.
Williams said Tuesday that police do not yet know how many people in total are believed to have shot a gun during the incident.
Anderson, Latre arrested by the police
Anderson was later contacted by police at a hospital where, according to court records, he was being treated for gunshot wounds. It is unclear whether he was among the seven people who were taken to the hospital by rescue workers or whether he arrived separately.
Police said Anderson was identified in a photo constellation as one of the men who fired multiple gunshots during the elevator shootout. He was arrested on the evening of May 10th.
During an interview with police, Anderson initially said he was at the hotel but did not know what happened in the elevator and that he was unarmed. When shown evidence, he admitted having a gun and hiding it in a car after escaping the shooting. However, he denied having fired the gun.
Anderson told police Causey was his friend, according to court records.
Court documents indicate that Latre shot someone with a pistol during the elevator shootout. It also indicated that he was previously detained and no longer had a gun.
Latre was arrested at the hotel in connection with the shootingon Friday morning. He denied being involved and having a gun, but admitted to picking up the guns in the elevator lobby.
He had a bond worth $ 750,000.
An investigation into the hotel recordings was underway.
Republican reporter Audrey Jensen contributed to this story.
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @curtis_chels.
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