The Lake Havasu fugitive was allegedly involved in a shootout with law enforcement last year that resulted in injuries to himself and an Arizona Department of Public Safety official. He is currently scheduled to face trial in the Mojave High Court in July.
Juan M. Rodriguez, 48, remains in custody at the Mojave County Jail as of this week, awaiting trial on charges including attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, aggravated assault with a dead weapon, and possession of drugs for sale. there is , illegal escape from law enforcement, money laundering, aggravated assault, shooting in a vehicle, firing a firearm in a residence, possession of a weapon by a felon. Mojave Senior Judge Douglas Camacho set a July 10 trial date for the case at a hearing last Thursday.
According to court records, Camacho dismissed previous charges against Rodriguez at the hearing, including one additional count of endangerment, damage to property, possession of a weapon by a felon, and possession of a weapon in a non-residential state. It included one felony charge. At the hearing, however, Camacho also denied defense attorney Gregory McPhillips’ request to destroy evidence in the May 3 case.
McPhillips made the request early last month on the grounds that law enforcement obtained evidence as a result of a traffic stop by Arizona Department of Public Safety detective Donald Shedd, who was also a victim in the incident. McPhillips said the traffic stop itself may have been illegal.
McPhillips alleged that Rodriguez was a possible suspect in Shedd’s drug trafficking investigation. McPhillips argued Shedd legally needed a warrant before he could stop traffic in the course of such an investigation.
Prosecutors argued last month that McPhillips’ allegations may have been undisputed, but prosecutors were unable to find a law stating Shedd needed a warrant to stop Rodriguez before the shooting. I didn’t. And even if such a statute existed, Shed could not initiate a traffic stop until after a shootout had taken place.
The case began last April, when Shedd was monitoring the Kingman residence for reported drug activity. Prosecutors said Shedd had seen the two men leave the scene in a white BMW at the time and had since identified them as Rodriguez and his pal Tabitha Lubash, 19.
According to initial law enforcement reports, Shed witnessed a vehicle that did not stop at a stop sign, causing Shed to attempt to stop traffic. Instead of stopping, however, Rodriguez allegedly ran away from the police who were chasing him. Shedd pursued Rodriguez until he allegedly tried to ram the car, law enforcement officials said.
Shed reportedly ordered Rodriguez and Lubash out of the car. Instead, prosecutors allege Rodriguez fired at Shedd with an automatic rifle.
After the exchange, Rodriguez fled the scene leaving Shedd injured and called for help. Mojave County Sheriff’s Deputies searched Rodriguez’s car and it was eventually found on the campus of Mojave Community College in Kingman. Officers pursued Rodriguez to a nearby desert, where a second shootout took place. Rodriguez himself was injured during the exchange and was taken to Kingman Medical Center for treatment before being imprisoned in the Mojave County Jail.
Court records show Rodriguez was wanted at the time after fleeing criminal trial a month earlier. At the trial, Rodriguez was charged with felony charges related to transporting nearly a pound of methamphetamine through Lake Havasu City in 2021. Rodriguez was eventually convicted in absentia and sentenced to 17 years in prison.
After the alleged shootout last April, investigators recovered evidence including five firearms, several cell phones, a ledger, drug paraphernalia, about $30,000 in cash, and a bag suspected of containing methamphetamine and fentanyl. It is said that
