The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has dismissed the case of a man accused of murder in January 2022 in Phoenix.
County prosecutors said last year that Ruben, who was indicted on first-degree murder, burglary and armed robbery charges after Marco Toma, 23, was found shot dead in a motel room in northern Phoenix. Moved to dismiss the case of Louis III (23).
The case was about to go to trial when the state tried to dismiss Ruiz’s case without prejudice on March 6.
Lewis’s attorney, Corwin Townsend, was not told why.
“They didn’t really give us an explanation as to why they dismissed the case, other than they weren’t ready to go to court. They didn’t give us a clear answer.”
At approximately 4:30 a.m. on January 29, 2022, officers responded to a call for gunfire fired at a Phoenix motel off 23rd Street and Bell Road. Thomas was found dead in a motel room with a gunshot wound to the head.
According to court documents, Thomas was a regular with Lewis. He owed Lewis his $8,000 debt for drugs, but the debt he could have negotiated up to $2,000, the police claimed, put Lewis in jail. Police later corroborated the information in interviews with Lewis’s next of kin.
Thomas visited motels to avoid the motels where his mother and brothers lived. Lewis visited those motels in an attempt to collect debts from Thomas. It showed that he was going to hurt Touma even if he paid him back, so he could “be a role model”.
According to court documents, Thomas arrived at the motel around 3:16 am. Toma was in her room with her longtime friend Chelsea Crespo, who worked at her motel. Someone knocked on the door and walked in, pointing a gun at Toma. According to court documents, Crespo later identified the intruder as Lewis.
Arrest of Ruben Louis III:Police arrest suspect after Phoenix motel gunned down for drug debt
According to court documents, Lewis shot Thomas once in the back of the head when he tried to move away from Luis when he entered the room, Crespo told police. He said he picked up Thomas’ pistol and left the motel room.
Crespo then asked the motel manager to call 911. On the way to the room where Toma was shot, the administrator saw a man in a dark hoodie and trousers fleeing the room. That description matched Crespo’s, according to court documents.
Later that day, investigators arrested Lewis at approximately 3:00 p.m. as he was exiting an apartment complex near 15th Street and Bell Road.
According to court documents, Lewis admitted in an interview with police that he sold drugs to Toma and was angry that the victim owed him $2,000. He denied having shot Thomas while he was at the motel.
He was later held in the Maricopa County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder.
Townsend believes the state does not have enough evidence to bring his client to justice.
“If they have the evidence, they won’t dismiss it,” he said. “Logically speaking, they shouldn’t have the evidence. Because it will happen.”
Townsend said that in all the tests done so far, no DNA, fingerprints, or video evidence would link his client to the crime.
He also said he believed the charges were dropped because Crespo, the state’s sole witness, was unreliable.
This article originally appeared in the Republic of Arizona. Maricopa County dismisses lawsuit of Phoenix man accused of murder
