An Arizona constable was murdered and killed while performing the same duties earlier this year after her predecessor left the position out of irritation with serving eviction notices. Authorities reported that the shooter, his neighbor, and the apartment complex manager all passed away.
Just after 11 a.m. on Thursday, a shooting took place at the Tucson Lind Commons Apartments. Gavin Lee Stansell allegedly opened fire while Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay and the complex manager were attempting to serve him with an eviction notice.
Fox-Heath, 28, was discovered dead from a hit. She was located in a courtyard by responding officers.
Martinez-Garibay was discovered wounded inside Stansell’s flat by a SWAT team, according to the authorities. At the scene, she was pronounced deceased.
They discovered 24-year-old Stansell, who had shot himself in the head.
A more thorough check of his house revealed that Elijah Miranda, 25, had been fatally shot by Stansell after he had broken into the apartment next door. Police are investigating how he was able to enter, according to Sgt. Richard Gradillas, a police spokesperson.
Investigators are unsure of Stansell’s attempts to contest the notice or the reason the constable entered the flat.
According to Gradillas, there were no eyewitnesses to the assault. Because he didn’t believe the policeman was wearing a body camera, he expressed disbelief that there was video of the incident.
According to the Pima County Constables Office, the 43-year-old Martinez-death Garibay’s left the office’s workers in shock. According to the office, she sacrificed her life to help the citizens of Arizona.
Authorities have confirmed that Pima County Constable Deborah Martinez-Garibay passed away in the alleged triple homicide-suicide that occurred in midtown Tucson on Thursday. REST IN PEACE.
The office issued a statement that read, “We all know that the job of an Arizona constable comes with risk, but we go about our business with caution and professionalism and treat everyone with respect and decency.”
According to news sources, residents of the apartment complex were evacuated but were allowed to return to their residences.
According to a landlord’s eviction case submitted on August 15 to the Pima County Consolidated Justice Court, Stansell had previously made violent threats.
According to the lawsuit, on July 27, he or one of his visitors threatened and intimidated neighbors with a rifle.
According to court documents, Stansell did not show up for the Monday hearing in the case.
The documents show that a judge found Stansell in violation of his lease agreement and stated: “The evidence establishes the defendant threatened another resident with a firearm and has otherwise disturbed the peace.”
Flags were ordered to fly at half-staff in all state buildings on Friday in memory of the deceased constable by Arizona Governor Doug Ducey.
In a news release, Ducey stated that “the death of Constable Deborah Martinez is felt across our state.” She “committed her life to assisting others and her community, whether it was serving in the U.S. Army or carrying out her duties as a constable for Pima County.”
Martinez-Garibay joined Justice Precinct 8’s police force earlier this year, according to Ducey. She was a native of Tucson who, according to the governor, “would be remembered for the way she treated others with dignity and respect.”
Her husband, Gabriel Garibay, told the Tucson Sentinel on Thursday that it was “simply unfathomable” that someone would harm another person in that way. “I’m still working on assembling it. It seems unreal, and I’m still certain that it’s part of a joke, but it’s simply a way to put it. I’m not sure how to describe it.”
Martinez-body Garibay’s was carried away from the scene by police officers who had assembled a guard of honor around six o’clock on Thursday. Police motorcycles and other law enforcement cars drove in a line while flashing their lights.
According to the publication, her Ford F-150, which had a small “Constable” sign on the door, remained at the scene as of Thursday afternoon.
Constables are elected peace officers that deliver court documents for the Pima Justice Court and several county entities, including civil or criminal cases. They are also able to deliver documents from courts beyond the area.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Martinez-Garibay joined the U.S. Army and served a number of missions in Afghanistan before leaving the service after 16 years. According to the governor’s announcement release, she volunteered at neighborhood NGOs serving veterans and their families after she left the service.
After the previous constable quit, she was appointed.
According to the Arizona Daily Star, she stated in March, “When I deal with the people that I have to evict, I recognize it’s my obligation, but they’re still people. “Just showing these people some fundamental respect and dignity can go a long way in helping them reconstruct their lives.”
Kristen Randall, a former constable, had grown unhappy with having to deliver eviction notices to families while being unable to assist them in staying in their homes.
In her letter of resignation dated February 13, Randall stated that “we should evaluate how this anachronistic post may better match the requirements of a changing community” since “a force for good can so easily be a force of pain and disaster.”
Martinez-Garibay hoped to win the job in the election held in November. Martinez-Garibay will be replaced by a candidate nominated by the Pima County Democratic Party on the November general election ballot in accordance with state law, the Tucson Sentinel said.
According to KPHO-TV, Martinez-Garibay was recognized for her service in 2019 and given a car from the Recycled Ride program.
Martinez-Garibay oversaw the Tucson PGA Hope chapter in 2017 and 2018, according to KOLD-TV. The program aimed to unite golf professionals and disabled veterans from the armed forces.
At the time, Martinez-Garibay observed, “The main thing that I am witnessing is more than they are delighted about learning the game of golf, they are happy to have the social interaction with other veterans.”
This incident is the most recent to highlight the risks associated with serving eviction notices. Officials reported that a deputy from the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office was shot and killed on Monday while trying to serve eviction papers at a house close to Oklahoma City. A second deputy was also injured.
The two deputies were delivering “lock-out papers,” which are a necessary step in the eviction process, when one of them proceeded to the home’s back door and was shot, according to Sheriff Tommie Johnson. According to Johnson, the second deputy was shot as he made an effort to rescue the first deputy. Officials reported that a suspect in the Oklahoma shooting was apprehended after leading police on a chase.
Since the early pandemic protections that kept millions of people sheltered have vanished and the rental assistance subsidies have run out, evictions have increased dramatically nationally in recent months.
Tucson’s Pima County courts have already received 6,937 eviction filings this year, which is slightly more than the 6,899 filings total for all of 2021. Phoenix’s home county, Maricopa County, Arizona, has seen a sharp increase in eviction filings as well.
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