Suspected shooter arrested in Tucson fatal road rage incident

Tucson police arrested a man suspected of shooting and killing a man in October during a road rage incident.

According to the Tucson Police Department, just after 2 pm on Oct. 7, officers received reports of a shooting near South Sixth Avenue and East Benson Highway. Officers responded to the scene and saw a man with signs of gunshot trauma inside a gold Jeep that had crashed into a guardrail, police said.

The man, identified as 22-year-old Marcos Nino, was pronounced dead at the scene by Tucson Fire Department personnel, police said.

An investigation into the incident led detectives with the homicide unit to conclude that Nino was struck by gunfire while he was driving northbound on South Sixth Avenue, causing him to swerve off the roadway and slam into the guardrail, authorities said.

Specific details about the road rage incident were not provided by police.

Tucson police said that new evidence led investigators to the suspect vehicle on Nov. 1. Officers contacted the driver of the vehicle, as well as 29-year-old Robert Anthony Vasquez. Police arrested Vasquez on suspicion of first-degree murder, police said.

Police did not release details about how detectives connected Vasquez with the shooting but said he and the victim did not know each other, and that the shooting happened due to a confrontation on the roadway.

Vasquez was also charged with weapons misconduct and other charges due to unrelated outstanding warrants for his arrest.

Vasquez was booked into Pima County Jail, where he was being held on a more than $1 million bond.

Reach breaking news reporter Vic Verbalaitis at [email protected] or on Twitter @VicVerb.

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