PD: Buckeye homicide suspect faces $2M cash bond after victim dies from injuries a week later

BUCKEYE, Ariz. - Police arrested a suspect in connection to a shooting in a Buckeye neighborhood that left a person with critical injuries who eventually died a week later.

According to Buckeye Police, officers responded to reports of a shooting just before 7 p.m. on March 22 at a home near Yuma Road and Jackrabbit Trail. Once on scene, officers found a person who had been shot.

The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition. On April 3, police say the victim, 23-year-old Brian Herman Ceccon Gonzi, passed away the night of April 1.

Investigators say the suspected gunman, 33-year-old Jose Esteban Mendoza, fled the scene in a 2015 black Dodge Charger SXT with a Phoenix Suns license plate PX3432.

Mendoza was taken into custody in Tucson on March 26 with help from the U.S. Marshals Service.

"Investigators learned Mendoza had been in a vehicle with his girlfriend and the victim when Mendoza began arguing with his girlfriend," police said in a statement. "That's when the victim intervened. Mendoza and the victim began physically fighting. When the group arrived at the home, Mendoza went inside, retrieved a gun and shot the victim, critically wounding him. Mendoza drove away from the scene before police arrived."

Mendoza has a $2,000,000 cash bond set for a first-degree homicide charge.