The case against a man accused of strangling a 6-year-old child to death in 2016 will proceed to either trial or a plea deal after a preliminary hearing Friday.
Darin Thrailkill appeared in Mesa County Court for a preliminary hearing yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tempe police responded to a 911 call on Jan. 15, 2019, about a suspected burglary in an alley. Officer Joseph Jaen arrived to find Antonio Arce, sitting in a truck with a handgun.
Jaen called to Arce, 14, who turned and ran. âLet me see your hands!â Jaen yelled, but Arce continued running, and Jaen shot and killed him.
In body camera footage taken minutes after the shots, Jaen can be heard saying âItâs a (expletive deleted) toy gun.â It was, indeed, an airsoft replica of a Colt 1911 pistol, with its orange tip still intact.
âThatâs supposed to alert the public, as well as the police, to the fact that this is not a real gun,â said Daniel Ortega Jr., a lawyer for Arceâs family. Airsoft guns use springs or compressed air to fire nonlethal plastic projectiles.