Tempe Police reported the following incidents on Monday:
- A 19-year-old Gila River man was arrested Monday on suspicion of crashing into a tree in the Arizona Mills Mall parking lot and drawing a firearm at a police officer, according to a police report.
The man crashed into the tree and proceeded to enter the mall on foot while waving a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun in the air, police reported.
The man walked into the Famous Footwear outlet store where he picked out two pairs of shoes, handed them to the assistant manager at the sales counter and instructed her to put them in a bag, according to the report.
Tempe Police responded to the call regarding the waving of the handgun and car crash, police reported.
An officer took position on the corner of Priest Drive and Baseline Road when they saw the man walking toward the sidewalk, the officer approached the man and instructed him to put his hands on top of his head, according to the report.
The man stepped back from the officer and the man drew his handgun and pointed it at the officer’s chest, police reported.
The officer pushed the man’s gun away as he attempted to draw his firearm but was unable to do so, according to the report.
The man began shouting and threatening the officer with the handgun, police reported.
The officer reached for the man’s handgun again, this time grabbing the muzzle of the handgun and bringing it into the trauma plate of his vest, considered a protected area from gunshots, according to the report.
The officer and the man began to wrestle for control of the handgun, police reported.
The officer was successful in retrieving the handgun from the man and pointed it toward the man, according to the report.
The officer threw the handgun on the ground, drew his Taser and fired at the man, incapacitating him, police reported.
The officer took the man into custody, according to the report.
The man admitted committing the alleged crimes and said it was because of an “adrenaline high” that he was trying to frighten the officer with the handgun, police reported.
- A 29-year-old Tempe man was arrested Tuesday at the 1100 block of West Fifth Street on suspicion of burglarizing a vehicle, according to a police report.
According to the report, a woman told police that the stereo from her vehicle was stolen while the vehicle was parked at an apartment complex.
Police responded to the call and were able to pull fingerprints from the vehicle’s windows, police reported.
After running the prints using the Automated Fingerprint Identification System, police traced the prints to a man arrested in February for an unrelated shoplifting incident, according to the report.
When the match was confirmed, officers discovered the man lived in the same apartment complex the vehicle was broken into, police reported.
The victim had no relation to the man and didn’t know any man with a similar description, according to the report.
The man was arrested for burglary, police reported.
