Associated Press
PHOENIX — A June 5 trial has been set for a 15-year-old boy accused of killing a Maricopa County jail officer who authorities say apparently was targeted at random when he was shot in his own driveway.
Leonard Moreno has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault and drive-by-shooting in the Aug. 8 death of 27-year-old detention officer Jorge Vargas.
Vargas was attacked while working on his car outside his home.
He was wearing his uniform that identified him as a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office employee.
Investigators don’t know what exactly happened in the driveway before Vargas was shot, but police say Moreno was high, drunk and armed when he left a party and headed home, passing Vargas’ home on the way.
Vargas was an eight-year veteran who worked for the sheriff’s Custody Support Bureau in a jail food factory.