Police identify suspect, victim after deadly shooting in south Phoenix

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — One man is dead, and another is in custody following a deadly shooting in south Phoenix.

Around 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Phoenix police were called to an area near 24th Street and Baseline Road after witnesses reported that a man pushing a shopping cart had been shot. The suspect ran from the scene before officers arrived.

First responders found the victim, since identified as 38-year-old Orlando Archuletta, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He died at the hospital a short time later.

Officers searched the area and found the suspect behind a nearby business complex, hiding behind a dumpster and “displaying signs of drug intoxication.” Police say the suspect, 48-year-old Antonio Lopez, Jr., had a handgun and other evidence with him that linked him to the shooting and was taken into custody.

According to court documents, he told detectives during a post-arrest interview that he was guilty. Lopez reportedly told investigators that he thought he was smoking meth with two men and a woman but believed it was actually fentanyl because of how it made him feel.

He said he fell asleep and later woke up wanting to talk to the victim because, while under the influence of drugs, he believed Archuletta had placed his granddaughter in a cage. He told detectives Archuletta kept walking away from him, making him angry, and that he shot him up to three times.

Meanwhile, a woman who was there told police that Lopez had become angry about a water bottle he believed was filled with urine and that he then followed Archuletta moments before she heard gunshots.

Lopez was arrested and booked into jail on murder and drug possession charges.

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