FLORENCE, AZ — The Pinal County Attorney's Office has announced it will seek the death penalty against the man accused of shooting and killing Apache Junction Officer Gabriel Facio.
County Attorney Brad Miller made the announcement during a news conference in Florence on Tuesday.
Watch the announcement in the player below
“The decision follows a thorough review of the facts, evidence, and applicable laws and was made in consultation with input from experienced prosecutors in our office,” said County Attorney Miller.
On June 2, Officer Facio was responding to a road rage incident near Ironwood Drive and Elliot Road when he was allegedly shot by 37-year-old Roger Nunez.
According to documents, Nunez told officers he did not have a weapon in his vehicle. However, when asked to step out of the vehicle, Nunez pulled out a firearm and walked away from the vehicle, ignoring verbal commands from officers to stop and drop his weapon.
Officers reportedly used less-lethal force in an attempt to get Nunez to comply.
Nunez reportedly said, “officers would have to kill him,” before eventually pointing his firearm at the officers and firing multiple rounds. Officers then returned fire.
Officer Facio was struck during the exchange of gunfire. He was rushed to a hospital where he later died.
Nunez was apprehended and taken to a hospital to be treated for unknown injuries. He was later released into custody and booked into jail to face charges of first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault on an officer, disorderly conduct, and misconduct involving weapons.
Officer Facio was laid to rest on June 16 following a public memorial service in the East Valley.
