Dispute with roommate, collection of firearms lands man in jail

A Maricopa man was jailed after officers, responding to a roommates’ dispute, found a collection of firearms in a home where children could easily access them. 

Peter C. Alvarez was booked into Pinal County jail on suspicion of disorderly conduct (domestic violence), criminal damage (domestic violence) and endangerment (domestic violence), police said. 

At 12:27 a.m., Maricopa police responded to a home in The Villages at Rancho El Dorado on a report of disturbance, where they contacted Alvarez and his roommate, Julianna Hernandez. 

Hernandez told officers that she called 911 because Alvarez had punched a hole in the wall. Hernandez said Alvarez was upset that her niece and nephew were at the home, Maricopa police said. Officers spoke with Alvarez, who admitted he had punched the wall, and that he was upset that Hernandez’s niece and nephew were being loud and were not leaving. 

According to a probable-cause statement, Hernandez told officers about Alvarez’s large collection of firearms. Hernandez said she was fearful because Alvarez leaves them out.  

Hernandez told officers she often must put the firearms in safe places because Alvarez gets heavily intoxicated and forgets to put them away himself. 

Alvarez was arrested and officers collected the firearms.  

According to Maricopa police, officers found a shotgun in the home’s pantry and a plethora of other arms in the house, including shotguns, rifles and handguns. Police noted Alvarez’s bedroom door does not have a lock, there were no firearms safes and no other safety measures to restrict children’s access to the guns. 

All guns found in the home were loaded, according to Maricopa police.