A Phoenix man is in custody after a young Snowflake man was shot early last Friday morning. At approximately 12:37 a.m. on July 7, the Snowflake-Taylor Police Department received a call reporting shots fired in the area of Siesta Drive in Snowflake near the border of Snowflake and Taylor. Upon arrival, officers found a man lying in the road with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the neck. The officers obtained a description of a suspect vehicle and three male occupants, and the information was quickly relayed to surrounding agencies. The victim, identified as Alexander Foree, 21, of Snowflake, was taken to the hospital, then flown to a Phoenix hospital, where he remains in critical condition. At about 1:09 a.m., Navajo County Sheriff’s deputies located the suspect vehicle heading west on Highway 277 past the “Y”. The vehicle was stopped and all three suspects were detained without incident. According to the SFPD, the investigation revealed that Gabriel Rodriguez, 28, of Phoenix allegedly shot Foree after an altercation occurred at a residence on Siesta Drive. Rodriguez was arrested and charged with misconduct involving weapons, two counts of aggravated assault and three warrants. The other two suspects were released pending criminal charges. SFPD officials offered their thanks to the sheriff’s office, the Show Low Police Department and the Major Crimes Apprehension Team for their assistance in this case. The situation was handled quickly and professionally by all agencies and officers involved, which led to the almost immediate and safe apprehension of the suspects. Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Snowflake-Taylor Police Department at (928) 536-7500 or WeTip at 1-800-78-CRIME.
