Last year, a man in Lake Havasu was arrested after a shootout involving the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office. His lawyers are now filing a motion to cover up any evidence investigators gathered after inciting the case.
The case began last April with a drug trafficking investigation, when Department of Public Security detectives monitored the Kingman residence in connection with reports of drug activity in the area. Two suspects, later identified as Juan M. Rodriguez, 48, of Havasu, and Tabitha Lubash, 21, of Kingman, left the house in a white BMW, according to prosecutors. ran away. Department of Public Safety Detective Donald Shedd chased the vehicle in an unmarked cruiser in anticipation of a traffic violation that might justify stopping the vehicle’s driver, according to court records.
Shed may not have known that Rodriguez, identified as the driver of the car, was a fugitive wanted in Mojave County at the time. Rodriguez was arrested in Lake Havasu City in 2021 on charges related to transporting more than a pound of methamphetamine, and was put on trial for the charges a month before Shed attempted to stop traffic. In this case, Rodriguez fled the Mojave Superior Court on the day the jury was due to deliver its verdict.
When Shedd pursued Rodriguez in the course of a drug trafficking investigation last April, the vehicle is said to have sped up while driving through the Kingman neighborhood. Rodriguez refused to stop despite a stop sign, and Shed allegedly tried to stop traffic at the scene.
Prosecutors say Rodriguez tried to run from Shed and then tried to ram Shed’s car before it stopped. Shed reportedly ordered Rodriguez and Lubash to raise their hands and take him into custody. Prosecutors allege that one of the vehicle’s occupants fired an automatic rifle at Shedd instead of surrendering. Shed was eventually injured in an exchange.
Rodriguez drove away from the scene, and his car was later found near the campus of Mojave Community College in Kingman. At the time, the Mojave County Sheriff’s Deputy believed Rodriguez had fled into the nearby desert. Officers found Rodriguez after a brief search, and another shootout allegedly broke out. Rodriguez was injured in the encounter and taken into custody.
Officers are said to have found four firearms at the scene where Rodriguez was detained. In Rodriguez’s car, sheriffs allegedly found blood evidence from the shootout with Shedd, as well as a cell phone, ledger, tools and additional firearms.
Officers also found bags containing suspected fentanyl and methamphetamine in the desert area surrounding the scene.
More than $30,000 in cash was also found near the scene of Rodriguez’s arrest.
Gregory McPhillips, a Kingman attorney at Ashley & McPhillips, said state law requires law enforcement to obtain warrants before arresting drug trafficking suspects.
McPhillips said Shedd and fellow DPS detective Carlos Cortez launched the first close surveillance at Kingman last year during an investigation into drug trafficking in the area.
County investigators said Shed tried to stop Rodriguez for a traffic violation, but Shed never wrote a report on the alleged incident.
McPhillips said all evidence in the case was obtained by law enforcement through a warrantless search and seizure, in violation of laws governing drug trafficking investigations. McPhillips said officers later obtained a search warrant after police seized Rodriguez’s car.
In his May 3 motion, McPhillips argued that the evidence against his client was obtained by violating Rodriguez’s Fourth Amendment rights and fell under the “rule of exclusion” of evidence.
“In this case, Shedd did not write a report detailing the drug investigation or termination,” McPhillips said. “When Shed tried to stop the defendant without a warrant, there was no credible evidence that he did anything other than pursue a drug investigation.”
McPhillip said there was no evidence yet that there had been a traffic violation. Therefore, any evidence arising from the traffic stop or other search for Rodriguez’s car should be covered up, he said.
As of Thursday, Rodriguez is in custody at the Mojave County Jail on charges including attempted first-degree murder against a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault, illegally evading law enforcement, drug possession, and possession of a dangerous drug.
Rodriguez is scheduled to appear at an evidence hearing in the lawsuit on May 24, when attorneys will discuss McPhillips’ allegations with the court.
Lubash surrendered herself to custody on April 19 last year, but the charges against her were eventually dropped. Prosecutors in the case cited testimony and evidence from witnesses in the case that may have cast doubt on her guilt or made it less likely a felony conviction against her.
