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Pregnant woman killed near 7th Street/Northern in Phoenix

Posted at 2:09 PM, Apr 17, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-25 19:38:26-04

A pregnant woman was shot and killed by her boyfriend while driving in Phoenix on Tuesday afternoon.

Phoenix police Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said 29-year-old Chelsee Dennis was transported to the hospital in extremely critical condition and later died from her injuries.

According to police, Dennis was driving southbound on 7th Street near Northern Avenue when she and her boyfriend, 26-year-old Dwight A. Miles, began arguing.

Police said Miles pulled out a gun and shot her.

Witnesses called officials after seeing a blue car stopped southbound on 7th Street with a woman "slumped over the wheel," a police spokeswoman said. 

According to police paperwork, several witnesses at the scene also reported hearing gunfire and seeing a bloody child standing in the roadway with a dog. They also saw Miles running from the victim's car. 

Police say the 6-year-old child, who was in the car and uninjured, told witnesses and officers that the Miles “shot my mom real hard” and even asked him not to shoot her too. 

Miles was located nearby and arrested. A gun, ammo and cell phone were hidden in the area.

He initially lied to officers and said there was a struggle over the gun with the victim, however, he changed his story to say they had been arguing all morning before he shot her in the head.

Police paperwork says he threatened to kill Dennis months prior. He knew she was pregnant with their child. 

Dennis was seven months pregnant and planning to go to the UMOM shelter that day, according to police. Her unborn baby was delivered and was in critical, unstable condition. Police said the child died days later, on April 24. 

Miles is a convicted felon, police say, and has served prison time for possession of crack cocaine. He told police the gun he used was purchased from a man off the street for $250. Police say the gun was found to have been stolen in December 2017. 

Miles was booked into jail on charges of first-degree murder, possession of a weapon by a prohibited person, disorderly conduct and theft/control of stolen property. He is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond. 

Police are working on adding an additional charge of first-degree murder after the newborn baby's death.