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PD: Man who shot at DPS had surgery prior to capture

Posted at 12:07 PM, Mar 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-10 19:50:06-05

We now know what a suspect was doing in the hours between him shooting at an Arizona Department of Public Safety officer in Avondale and his capture in north Phoenix last week.

Court paperwork shows that 29-year-old Luis Aldana went to a friend's home and requested his friend to attempt surgery on his back to dig out the bullet because he was shot after firing several shots at a Department of Public Safety Trooper.

Avondale Police report that on March 2 at about 9:40 a.m.,a DPS trooper observed a car with excessive tinting on his windows and attempted a traffic stop. The suspect pulled into a parking lot near 91st Avenue and Thomas Road but then pulled back onto the road. 

The DPS trooper gathered information on the vehicle which showed it to be registered to Luis Aldana, a man with a suspended license. 

Aldana later pulled over near 107th Avenue and Thomas Road, where he rolled down his window and put his hands on the steering wheel. He then reportedly took one hand away, grabbed a handgun and fired several shots at the trooper as he pulled away. 

Police later said the DPS vehicle was hit three times. The Trooper was able to return fire. Police located the vehicle near 111th Avenue and Indian School Road, forcing several schools to go on 'lock down.' SWAT teams approached the vehicle and saw that Aldana was gone, but blood was found in the car.

Police received information that Aldana met up with a friend and undercover units monitored the friend’s home near 40th Avenue and Camelback Road.

Court paperwork says that a relative brought Aldana to the friend's home, where Aldana told the friend that he had been shot by some gang members and did not want to go to a hospital. Aldana requested that his friend "cut the bullet out of his back."

After getting medical supplies from a CVS pharmacy, the friend attempted to perform the surgery but was unable to remove the bullet. Fearing he was going to kill Aldana, he convinced him to let him take Aldana to a hospital.

While traveling to the hospital, the friend noticed a police helicopter overhead, that's when Aldana apologized to his friend and confessed that he had shot at an officer. 

Phoenix police stopped the vehicle near Interstate 17 and Dove Valley Road, where Phoenix Police took Aldana into custody and to the hospital.

Aldana was arrested upon his release from the hospital and is being held on a $500,000 bond on charges of aggravated assault and attempted second-degree murder.