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PHOENIX -- A man suspected of murdering a woman at her west Phoenix home early Saturday turned himself in to Tucson police at a convenience store later that night.
At about 7:30 p.m., Jerome Pringle, 44, walked into an AM/PM store located 802 W. Speedway Boulevard and told the clerk he wanted to turn himself in to police because he killed someone, according to Officer Chuck Rydzak of the Tucson Police Department.
Rydzak said the clerk called 9-1-1 and officers responded and took Pringle into custody.
James Ehler, the clerk working at the time, said Pringle was pacing outside the store and crying.
"I seen that he was crying, just balling," said Ehler. "He then came in and asked me to call the cops and I said, 'Why do you have a warrant or something?' And he said, 'No, I just want to turn myself in,'" said Ehler.
Ehler said he called police and continued to talk with Pringle in an effort to keep the suspect from changing his mind and leaving.
"I just talked to him, and he's like, 'Well, I killed my brother's girlfriend up in Phoenix this morning.' And I was like, 'Damn, are you serious dude?' I didn't believe him at first," said Ehler.
Phoenix officers drove down to Tucson and transported Pringle to Maricopa County Jail.
Shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday, Alice Saunders, 41, was found dead in her home near 72nd Avenue and Camelback Road in Phoenix, according to Sgt. Tommy Thompson of the Phoenix Police Department.
"He told me he just started hitting her until she didn't move anymore and he knew that she was dead," said Ehler as he described the continuing conversation with Pringle moments before he was taken into custody.
Thompson said investigators discovered that Saunders' 2004 Silver Chevrolet Impala was missing, but has since been recovered.
While in police custody, Pringle, the brother of Saunders' boyfriend, made statements to officers regarding her murder, according to Sgt. Andy Hill of the Phoenix Police Department.
"Investigators believe there was a verbal argument that led Pringle to kill Ms. Saunders," said Hill.
Pringle was charged with first-degree murder and one count of vehicle theft.
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