BREAKING: AZ murder suspect commits suicide at Anza gas station

ANZA — Details are beginning to emerge after an Arizona woman wanted in connection with a Phoenix homicide reportedly committed suicide this morning, Wednesday, Dec. 19. Riverside County sheriff’s officials have said the woman killed herself when she was confronted by deputies at an Anza gas station.

Deputies had received information from Phoenix Police Department that the woman, whose identity has not yet been released, was believed to be hiding somewhere in southwest Riverside County and was possibly in the Anza area.

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“Phoenix Police Department in Arizona was conducting a homicide investigation,” Riverside Sheriff’s Lt. Zach Hall later told High Country Journal of the incident. “They believed the suspect in their homicide was in the Anza area.”

“The Hemet Station Investigations Bureau set up for surveillance on who they believed the suspect in Phoenix’s homicide was,” explained Hall. “When they contacted her at the gas station she committed suicide.”

Riverside County sheriffs officials are now investigating the deadly incident, which happened at Circle K, at 56621 SR-371.

Despite rumors, officials have said no officers were directly involved in the shooting and the suicide was not preceded by a law enforcement pursuit.

 Although an air ambulance was initially summoned and responded to the scene, landing at the area’s nearby post office, it was not immediately known if the woman was airlifted or died at the scene.

As the sheriff’s investigation was getting underway, they cordoned off the entire gas station, declaring it a crime scene, and officials have asked area residents to avoid the area and explained their initial, on-scene investigation could take several hours.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.