(First InMaricopa) Authorities confirmed this morning that federal agents were involved in a fatal shootout in the rural Hidden Valley neighborhood of Maricopa last night, after neighbors reported to InMaricopa that they heard gunfire and police commands.
Homeowner Jamie Morano, 47, said she was feeding her donkeys when gunfire erupted on Barrel Road, about 8 miles south of the city near Deer Trail.
“I heard the shots and police commands,” Morano said. She said ambulances converged on the area shortly afterward.
“Pinal County Sheriff’s Office assisted after the incident,” said Sam Salzwedel, public information officer for PCSO. He directed additional questions to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The U.S. Marshals Service confirmed in a subsequent news release that members of its WANTED Task Force were involved in an officer-involved shooting that left a fugitive dead.
According to the release, officers located the wanted man at a Hidden Valley residence and watched him leave the home and get into a vehicle. When task force members surrounded the car, the fugitive produced a firearm, prompting police gunfire. He was struck and died at the scene.
U.S. Marshal Van Bayless said the fugitive was wanted on a federal probation violation warrant, stemming from an original charge of possession with intent to distribute, in an email to InMaricopa.
No law enforcement officers were injured. The FBI is investigating the officer-involved shooting.
This story has been updated.
