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Tempe Police reported the following incident Tuesday:

A 23-year-old Mesa man was arrested on March 20 at the 120 block of East 5th Street on suspicion of knowledge of second degree murder, according to a police report.

Police received a call referencing a shooting on Scottsdale and McKellips roads, police reported. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a man covered in blood who was screaming and yelling, according to the report. They also found a deceased man in the front seat of a 2004 Chrysler Crossfire, with a bullet wound, police reported.

There was a .40 caliber semi-automatic lying on the passenger side of the vehicle, according to the report. 

From what police gathered in their interviews of witnesses, the Crossfire was traveling at a high rate of speed, making an abrupt turn at the intersection and crashed into another vehicle that was stopped in traffic, police reported.

Officers questioned the man and he said the deceased was driving while he was looking down at his cellphone, police reported. The man then said that he heard a gunshot and had to take control of the vehicle, which forced the car into an abrupt turn, according to the report.

The windows of the vehicle were rolled up and the doors closed, but there was no evidence of the car being shot at from outside and the man denied that there were any subjects outside of the vehicle involved, police reported.

Evidence was consistent with gunfire coming from inside the car and the angle of the blood-spatter on the windshield indicated that the shot came from the passenger side of the vehicle, according to the report. 

The gunshot did not appear self inflicted to the officers and the vehicle had a standard transmission which required two hands to drive, police reported. 

The man denied knowledge of the gun being in the vehicle, according to the report.

The man originally told officers a woman named “Alexis” was in the back seat of the car, but later told police that he and the deceased were the only two involved in the incident, police reported. 

The man was booked into jail and held to see a judge, according to the report.

Report compiled by Megan Janetsky.

Reach the reporter at megan.janetsky@asu.edu or follow @meganjanetsky on Twitter.

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