Witnesses in the trial of a Tucson man accused of shooting his former girlfriend said they heard gunfire then saw him running from the area.
Early on the morning of June 4, 2012, Wilma Johnson said, she heard gunfire outside her bedroom window in an apartment complex near Golf Links and Pantano roads and went to see what had happened. “And then he was right there, running down the walkway,” she said.
Johnson was testifying in the trial of Arturo Quiles, 42, who is representing himself in Pima County Superior Court. Quiles is charged with attempted first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault in the shooting of his former girlfriend.
The pair had dated for several months before Quiles’ girlfriend ended the relationship. The Arizona Daily Star is withholding the woman’s name for her protection.
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Another neighbor also described seeing Quiles run from the area immediately after the shooting.
The former roommate of the victim said she moved from the apartment they shared because she was afraid of Quiles. “I was scared of Arturo,” Tara Muncy said, “because he was stalking our apartment.”
Muncy said Quiles also was frequently at the Starbucks where the victim worked, even after they separated.
She also described a text message Quiles sent to the victim, which depicted the image of a bleeding heart.
Johnson described seeing Quiles hanging around the apartment complex and thought it strange. “I just got an uneasy feeling about it,” Johnson said.
She said Quiles would linger near the apartment even when the victim’s car was not there.
Shortly before the shooting, Johnson said she did notice Quiles had stopped hanging around the apartment complex.
The trauma surgeon who treated victim said the woman was shot numerous times in the abdomen, arms and legs. Dr. Lynn Gries said bullets from the 9 mm pistol ripped into the victim’s intestines, liver and pelvis .
Bullets also struck the woman’s extremities, breaking bones and causing vascular damage.
Quiles does not appear to have a criminal record in Arizona, but his former wife did file for an order of protection against him in 2011. The order said he had knocked on the doors and windows of his ex-wife’s house and shouted at her, causing her to call police.
The trial continues today in Pima County Superior Court Judge Jane Eikleberry’s courtroom.
