Court records reveal new details about a man who was arrested in connection with a hit-and-run that left a toddler dead in west Phoenix, according to Phoenix police.
Just before 9 p.m. June 7, officers arrived at a home near 31st Avenue and Buckeye Road after reports of a collision involving a toddler, police spokesperson Sgt. Lorraine Fernandez said.
Officers found the boy in the roadway of the mobile home park. He was rushed to a hospital by Phoenix Fire Department crews and pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m., according to court records.
The toddler, named Lupe, had wandered out of his family's front yard and into the roadway of the mobile home park when a driver struck him, Fernandez said.
According to a probable cause statement filed by Phoenix police, Carlos Rojas Mora, 35, stopped his vehicle after hitting the boy, then ran to his trailer — which neighbored the family's — grabbed his brother's keys and fled in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.
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A family member witnessed Mora exit the driver's seat of the vehicle that struck Lupe, court records show.
Mora then went to a friend's house and asked the friend to drive him to Mexico, telling him he was wanted by Phoenix police for a hit-and-run, according to the probable cause statement. The friend began driving Mora toward 43rd Avenue and Thomas Road before deciding he no longer wanted to be involved and then dropped off Mora near 43rd Avenue and Missouri Avenue, court records show.
Baby Lupe, who turned 1 on Feb. 1, was struck and killed in January at his his west Phoenix mobile home community. A neighbor was arrested after fleeing.
Detectives worked together to track Mora to a second location. Undercover officers watched the home, and when Mora walked out with a group of men, a marked Phoenix police officer conducted a traffic stop at 59th Avenue and Thomas Road. Mora, seated in the back seat, self-identified. He was taken into custody just after 2 a.m. on June 8, according to court records.
After his arrest, Mora told officers he ran because of the hostility of Lupe's father, who he said was known to carry a firearm, according to court records. After being read his Miranda rights in Spanish, Mora said he had gotten into his vehicle to get food and was driving through the mobile home park when neighbors ran up screaming. He said he saw a child, panicked and fled.
Mora said he was en route to turn himself in at the Maryvale precinct police station when officers stopped him, court records show.
Mora was booked into Maricopa County Jail on one count of hit-and-run involving death or injury, a Class 3 felony. He appeared before Judge John Aragon via remote hearing later that day. A judge set his bond at $100,000 cash only.
Several family members gave emotional statements during the initial appearance.
"I hope you guys do not release that man. He is not even a man. He is a monster. He is a baby killer for doing that, for leaving my dead, bloody baby," a woman identifying herself as Lupe's mother said.
"That's my grandson that he killed. My first grandson, that I will never take fishing again," Lupe's grandfather said.
"I just want justice for my son," Lupe's father said.
The baby boy was described as being "full of joy and laughter" with "a smile that would light up the room," according to a GoFundMe page his family set up to cover funeral costs. A candlelight vigil was held for Lupe on June 8.
The Department of Child Safety had been notified, Fernandez said.
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