Deputies arrest 3 in slaying of Q.C. teen

Three people are under arrest in relation to the early Sunday fatal shooting of 17-year-old Anibal Mendoza of Queen Creek.

Thais "Lamar" Cooper, 20, Johnny Lee Cooks, 21, and a 17-year-old boy whose name was not released, all of Queen Creek, were arrested Sunday afternoon, according to a Pinal County Sheriff's Office spokesman.

Queen Creek H.S. student fatally shot in melee

The sheriff's office received several 911 calls about 2:30 a.m. Sunday regarding multiple shots fired and a subject lying facedown next to the street off of Altadonna Street near Cambria Drive in the Cambria neighborhood, east of Queen Creek. Mendoza was pronounced dead at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head. Sheriff's spokesman Michael Minter said Mendoza was part of a group alleged to have had ongoing issues with another group.

On Sunday morning, the groups confronted each other at a park in Cambria. The altercation began with a shotgun blast from a male juvenile member of a group of approximately five people into a group of approximately nine people. No major injuries resulted from the shotgun shot.

After the initial confrontation, the five-member group left the park and drove to a nearby side street in Cambria. Mendoza and another member of the nine-member group followed to confront the group on the side street. After another altercation, Cooper is reported to have shot Mendoza, and Cooks shot at the other members of the victim's group as he drove away, Minter said. He said alcohol could have been a factor in the incident.

Cooper faces felony charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy and child abuse. Cooks faces felony charges of endangerment and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The 17-year-old, whose name was not released because of the sheriff's office's policy on withholding the names of juveniles, faces aggravated assault charges, authorities said.

Angela Chomokos, principal of Queen Creek High School, which Mendoza attended, said Monday he was a likable teen who got along well with his former classmates.

Chomokos said Mendoza, a former student who did not graduate from the school, had a lot of friends there and lived in the community. Chomokos said counselors and teachers are available for students who want to talk about Mendoza's death. She said she had no information about where Mendoza went to school last year.

"We don't have a lot of facts," Chomokos said. "We're fielding rumors and trying to keep students informed."

Coolidge Unified School District spokeswoman Kelly Dooley said on Monday that Mendoza came to the school on Friday to get information on attending, but didn't enroll.