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WINSLOW — On the morning of Monday, Dec. 3, police responded to calls of shots fired in the 900 block of West Second Street in Winslow. The victim, 45-year-old Gilbert “Gibbo” Gonzalez of Winslow, died over the weekend at Flagstaff Medical Center after suffering a gunshot wound to the head. The suspect, 34-year-old Matthew Garcia of Winslow was initially booked into Navajo County Jail on charges of attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon and three warrants. Those charges will change with the death of Gonzalez. Garcia is being held without bond.
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According to WPD Lt. Ken Arend, following the shooting Garcia fled on foot south from the scene. “We had some eyewitness accounts that led us to dividing our officers to look for the suspect in three locations. Once we had absolute information, we were able to locate the suspect in a residence in the 700 block of West Mahoney Street.”
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Because of the unknown whereabouts of the shooter, Winslow Unified School District schools were placed on a lockout from 10:41 a.m. until 1:59 p.m. Morning kindergarten classes were held in the classrooms until the precaution was lifted but junior high and high school students followed a normal schedule.
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Arend explained, “The suspect was at large, so as a precaution, we put the schools on a lockout, meaning no one was allowed in or out until the situation was declared clear. No incidents were ever anywhere near any of the schools but it’s a small town (and it) doesn’t take long to get from one place to another. The kids were never in any danger.”
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Officers from WPD, Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, Arizona Department of Public Safety and a regional Special Response Team (SRT) negotiated with Garcia as he barricaded himself inside the residence on the 700 block of West Mahoney Street for approximately 10 hours, according to Arend, “I believe he was apprehended between 7 and 8 p.m.”
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During the standoff, it was discovered that several people, including at least two small children were also inside the home with Garcia. Arend said, “There were many people inside the house, as soon as we secured the location, we started calling into the house and people began coming out, in little spurts to be honest. Four came out, then a few more, then four more, then a couple with small children, then an hour later, even more. I don’t know exactly how many there were, but there were many.” However, Arend continued, “Garcia was holding one man as a hostage. That man was eventually released as well without further incident.”
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The standoff eventually concluded after all other occupants of the residence were released. The SRT forced entry through the front door of the home. Garcia was apprehended without further incident. The investigation into the motive and details of the case is still ongoing.
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Arend acknowledged the fact that the block where the initial shooting occurred is a common one for criminal activity. He said, “Specifically, the Cornerstone Apartment complex is occupied. We are definitely working on plans for the block. It is a difficult process because it is a residence and you are removing people from their homes. You have to go through the proper steps.” Cornerstone has approximately 25 apartment units but according to Arend not all of them are occupied. “I would say maybe 12 of them actually have people living in them.”
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The steps Arend referred to have already included meeting with the building’s owners, who are not local, to make plans for what can and should be done about the area.
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“As a matter of fact, we had a meeting on Monday morning, just minutes before the incident took place. We have had an increased police presence there for some time and have tried several solutions but have been roadblocked on trying to control that. There is an array of calls for service that we have responded to there. Obviously, there have been drug related arrests out of the Cornerstone and we have responded to common calls like domestic violence that you would have at any other residence. Our response is fluid over there and tends to happen a little more than any place else.”
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WPD has begun taking steps to make more arrests in an attempt to contain crimes in Winslow. Arend said, “Our violent crimes statistics have fallen an astronomical amount. I would say 50 or 60 percent over the last couple of years. Part of that is because we have been trying to alleviate some of these pockets of violent crime, like at the north end of town for example. Once we closed off access to the 3B’s Truck Stop area, our violent crime decreased almost immediately.”
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He did acknowledge the feelings that members of the Winslow community are having. “Citizens are voicing their concerns to us, and over social media. But I think they are being informed of them more often because of social media. We have used those sites to relay important and accurate information from our end but the citizens just feel like crime is happening non-stop here. That just isn’t the case.”
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He continued, “It is just going to be a methodical process of WPD brainstorming and acting on ideas of how to fix these issues. One of those fixes is already the fact that we have the freedom to make arrests instead of a ‘cite and release.’ As a police department, we have to be good stewards of the taxpayer’s money and it costs a lot of money to incarcerate someone or even just to transport them to jail. That is an expense to the taxpayers.
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“Our budget is in no way unlimited, so we have done misdemeanor charges in the past. Now, we have more freedom to spend a little bit of our budget to make those arrests to try to calm this down,
stated Arend, adding that the arrests are not a permanent solution as the offender is back out the next day and are back on the streets. “So, part of that has to fall on the county attorney’s office and the judges. It’s a cycle that we have to figure out how to break.”
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Both the victim and the suspect in this case are repeat offenders in the Navajo County Jail system. “You are going to have repeat offenders. Once they are booked in to jail, the police function is finished. That is why there is a separation of branches, to make sure everyone gets a fair shake. We are working every day to remedy some of these pockets where crime is happening. We ask the public to just help us in being aware of what is going on around them and let us know where we can help.”
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