Man Shoots, Kills Homeless Woman After Seeing His Dog Bark At Her

A man allegedly shot and killed a homeless woman dead after becoming upset when his dog barked at her in Chandler alley, Arizona on Friday, Jan. 20.

Officers reportedly responded to reports of shots fired in the area of West Fairview Street, near Arizona Avenue and Pecos Road on Friday, Jan. 20. When the officers arrived at the scene, they found a woman, later identified as Jessica Luz, with several gunshot wounds lying in an alley behind a home. The officers immediately rushed her to a hospital for treatment, where she later died, KTAR News reported.

According to officers, Luz was homeless and was known to frequently visit the area. Following the shooting, when the officers questioned the residents, the witnesses claimed that they saw a man yelling at Luz to get out of the alley before he shot her. Based on the witness description and other records, police identified James A. Taylor, 40, as the suspect.

The alley where Luz was shot was right behind the backyard of the home where Taylor lives. After identifying Taylor as the suspect, officers, including SWAT, surrounded the home and talked to Taylor over the phone.

When officers contacted Taylor, he immediately asked if Luz had died and then began making suicidal statements, including making threats of suicide by a cop. However, Taylor eventually gave up and was arrested at around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 20, azfamily 3TV CBS 5 reported.

After his arrest, when questioned, Taylor told investigators that he was upset after a failed suicide attempt overnight. According to Taylor, later in the morning, when his dogs started barking at a woman in the alley, he asked her to leave the alley.

However, when she refused, Taylor told police that he went back inside the house and retrieved a 9mm handgun. When she again refused to leave, Taylor pulled out the handgun and shot her once. When Luz fell to the ground, he shot her two more times. According to court documents, Taylor asked the officers for the death penalty or for the police to kill him.

Following the confession, Taylor was booked into jail on one count of first-degree murder and possession of a weapon by a prohibited possessor.