Shooting suspect charged with several crimes

A man has been charged with attempted second-degree murder after a shooting in a Yuma trailer park.

Carlos Arellano, 24, was also charged Tuesday with two counts of aggravated assault, one for causing serious injury and the other for using a deadly weapon, for allegedly shooting 47-year-old Guss Kasper of Yuma once in the back with a handgun.

Arellano was arraigned before Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart, who informed him that he originally had two cases against him, but that prosecutors did not file a criminal complaint in the second case, which had a pending charge of criminal trespass of a residential structure.

“This means prosecutors may file a complaint at a later date, there is no way for the court to know,” Stewart told Arellano. “Understand that prosecutors have not received a report so they have made no final determination as to whether a formal complaint is going to be filed in this case or not.”

In addition to setting Arellano's next court date — a preliminary hearing for 4 p.m. Monday, the judge ordered his bond remain at $500,000, which he set during a previous court hearing.

Arellano, who was arrested Thursday afternoon following a 55-minute standoff with Yuma police, was wanted as a person of interested in the May 8 shooting at the Walnut Avenue Trailer Park, 1946 S. Walnut Ave.

According to Yuma police, several other people were present at the time of the shooting, which happened at 9:48 a.m. It is not known why the group was there, or if Kasper was with them when they arrived.

While it is not known how many people were in the group, they all fled the scene prior to police arrival. Kasper was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center with serious injuries, where he remains hospitalized.

Police are continuing to work on establishing the identities of everyone in the group. As a precaution, McGraw Elementary, Gwyneth Ham Elementary, Gila Vista Junior High, Harvest Preparatory Academy, Desert View Academy, Shepherd's Watch Academy and Wonder Kidz Day Care were all placed in lockdown for about 45 minutes on the morning of the shooting. Harvest Prep, however, stayed under lockdown voluntarily once it was lifted at about 10:45 a.m.

Then at about 2 p.m. Thursday, a Yuma police officer spotted Arellano in the 1900 block of 2nd Avenue. After being spotted, Arellano ran into a nearby residence.

YPD's Special Enforcement Team and Hostage Negotiation Team were called to the scene and established a perimeter around the residence. Negotiators eventually made contact with Arellano, and he surrendered without incident to members of the Special Enforcement team shortly before 3 p.m.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.