Avondale man accused of killing brother-in-law over barking dog

AVONDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — An Avondale man is accused of shooting and killing his brother-in-law after the two got into an argument about a barking dog.

The suspect, 26-year-old Sorocco Tena, was taken into custody for the death of Luis Cosme Jimenez-Hunter last month.

On Nov. 25, around 8 p.m., Avondale police were called to a home near Broadway and El Mirage roads after a neighbor reported hearing a gunshot.

Then, a woman called 911 and said her husband, Jimenez-Hunter, had been shot. The woman told authorities that CPR couldn’t be performed because “there was too much blood,” court documents state.

Officers arrived and found Jimenez-Hunter shot to death in the sideyard.

At the home, officers detained Tena outside of the home after he made “spontaneous” comments about shooting Jimenez-Hunter and putting the gun inside a closet, police said.

Investigators spoke to Jimenez-Hunter’s wife, and court documents said she told police their family had just returned home from taking their children to see Santa. When they arrived, they heard Tena’s dog barking.

Jimenez-Hunter reportedly got upset and went outside to get the dog, which is when he started arguing with Tena.

Jimenez-Hunter’s wife then told police she “heard a bang” and saw Tena standing over her husband, police said.

Court documents say she saw lots of blood where Jimenez-Hunter was shot and witnessed Tena go inside the home with a gun.

Authorities spoke with the neighbor who called 911, who said he had heard the two men arguing while he was in his garage.

The neighbor reportedly said he heard a gunshot and saw a man wearing all black clothing go inside the home from the sideyard.

Court documents said he then heard a woman screaming about “someone shooting someone.”

Another neighbor gave her surveillance video footage to police.

In the video, dogs can be heard barking “continuously and excessively” before an argument breaks out, court documents said.

A video captures the sound of a gunshot, followed by screaming. During this, police say someone can be heard crying and stating, “Why did you do that?”

In an interview with police, Tena told investigators that there had been “tensions in the house over the last several days,” court documents state.

He reportedly said he got into an argument over Jimenez-Hunter getting rid of his dog.

He claimed that Jimenez-Hunter put both of his hands up like “he was trying to punch him,” police said. That’s when he pulled out his gun and shot him, according to court paperwork.

Detectives found a gun inside of a closet while searching the home.

Tena was booked on one count of second-degree murder, one count of disorderly conduct and one count of discharging a firearm within a city limit.

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