A 24-year-old man is facing a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of a man on Easter near a north-side Target .
Maurice Patterson was booked into the Pima County jail Friday on suspicion of first-degree murder and prohibited possessor, said Sgt. Pete Dugan, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.
Patterson was arrested in the slaying of Eloy Lopez Moore, 22, who was found shortly before 8 p.m. March 27 in a shopping center parking lot at 4040 N. Oracle Road. A 911-caller reported finding a man who was unresponsive on the ground , said Dugan.
Police found the man with gunshot trauma, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Detectives later learned that a confrontation took place between Patterson and Moore before the shooting .
Detectives worked leads and conducted a surveillance Thursday and saw Patterson leaving an apartment complex in the 7400 block of East 22nd Street. Undercover officers followed Patterson to a nearby recreational center where he was taken into custody.
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Dugan said Patterson was suffering from medical issues that were unrelated to the arrest, and he was taken to a hospital. He was taken to jail after he was released from the hospital Friday.
Contact reporter Carmen Duarte at cduarte@tucson.com or 573-4104.
Twitter: @cduartestar
Carmen Duarte
Reporter
