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Man tells PD 'voices' told him to kill neighbor

Posted at 8:44 AM, May 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-09 21:42:21-04

A man told Glendale police that "voices" told him to kill his neighbor Sunday morning, officials said.

According to the Glendale Police Department, around 7:11 a.m., there were calls of a shooting at an apartment complex near 75th and Glendale avenues. 

Police said 27-year-old Michael Walter Mitchell called 911 and said he shot his neighbor, 29-year-old Pedro Gomez. Officers arrived to find Gomez dead inside his own apartment. 

Authorities said the two men were not known to each other, and that Mitchell claims "voices" directed him to knock on the victim's door and shoot him.

Mitchell admitted that he had smoked meth just before the shooting. 

The victim's girlfriend and three young children were home at the time of the shooting, but were not injured, officials say. A neighbor said the woman and the children fled and sought shelter in his home. 

Mitchell was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He's being held on a $1 million bond. During his court appearance, he said nothing to the judge, but he did have plenty to say to a 911 dispatcher who took the accused shooter's own call, which was released to ABC15. 

911: "What happened when you got there?"
Mitchell: "He opened the door and I just shot him."
911: "So he opened the door and you just shot him for no reason?"
Mitchell: "No because someone was asking for help."
Mitchell: "I hear voices in my head ok?"
911: "What do the voices in your head tell you to do?"
Mitchell: "They were telling me they needed help, so I went down there. They've been bothering me for days."