Tucson teen dead, another charged after officer-involved shooting in neighborhood | Local News

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) – A teenager died after being shot by Tucson Police SWAT officers who responded to a home invasion where an 8-year-old child was held inside with two armed robbery suspects, according to the Pima Regional Critical Incident Team. Another teen has been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.

On April 6 around 7:30 p.m., the Public Safety Communications Department received a 911 call regarding an armed robbery at a business in the 2500 block of North Campbell Avenue. Two male suspects forced entry into the closed business, confronted an employee inside where she was assaulted and robbed of her money and vehicle key, then left in the stolen vehicle before police arrived.

A K-9 officer located the stolen vehicle driving near the 100 block of West Ajo Way. Before a traffic stop could be initiated, the stolen vehicle fled from officers and the occupants ran from the vehicle into a nearby home in the 3700 block of South Lundy Avenue, according to PRCIT.

Around the same time, a 911 call was received from the homeowner, who was away from the home but could see two unknown people inside her home via security camera. Her 8-year-old child was inside the house alone with the teenagers.

Officers entered the home and safely evacuated the child. One of the two male suspects surrendered peacefully while the other remained inside and refused to exit, PRCIT said.

TPD SWAT and the Hostage Negotiations Unit responded to continue de-escalation efforts. Members from the Hostage Negotiation Unit established dialogue with the remaining suspect for several hours so a peaceful resolution could be met.

During these negotiation efforts, the suspect made repeated statements that he was armed with a gun and threatened to shoot at police. The suspect also called into 911 and made these same threats.

After several hours of negotiations attempting to reach a peaceful surrender, the suspect emerged from the home where dialogue continued before he raised an object at the officers. At that time, two SWAT officers discharged their department-issued firearms, striking the suspect.

A K-9 unit was on scene and was used to help take the suspect into custody. The suspect resisted the K-9, which prompted a SWAT officer to use a less-lethal projectile on the suspect.

Officers were then able to safely contact and provide emergency first aid to the suspect. The Tucson Fire Department transported the suspect to a hospital where he later died from his injuries.

He has been identified as 15-year-old Joannie Jose Armenta. Investigators later determined that Armenta had wrapped a toy gun in cloth to simulate a weapon.

The TPD SWAT officers who discharged their department-issued firearms are Officer Joseph Jensen, a 14-year veteran of TPD and Officer Daniel Lee, a 13-year veteran of TPD.

The suspect, a 14-year-old, surrendered and was safely taken into custody has been charged with First Degree Murder, Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault, Kidnapping, and Theft of Means of Transportation, and was booked into the Pima County Juvenile Detention Center.

The PRCIT was activated to handle the criminal investigation of this critical incident.

As part of the PRCIT, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department has been assigned primary responsibility for the criminal investigation of this critical incident. The Tucson Police Department will conduct a separate, but parallel administrative investigation, to examine the actions of their personnel.

As is standard practice in all PRCIT investigations, all findings will be presented to the Pima County Attorney’s Office once the investigation is complete.