Small Town News

Superior highway re-opens Friday afternoon following high speed chase incident

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While traffic came to a halt Friday in and out of Superior on U.S. 60, the town filled up with law enforcement personnel from police agencies around the area.

The highway had been closed in both directions east and westbound from Mile Post 224.50 at Superior to Mile Post 239 just 3.7 miles west of Miami, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The closure followed the fatal Thursday night shooting of Gilbert Police Lt. Eric Shuhandler, 42. The shooting took place at approximately 10:45 p.m. following a traffic stop involving a pickup truck at Baseline and Val Vista in the Gilbert-Mesa area.

The suspects, Daimen A. Irizarry, 30 of Gilbert and Christopher A. Redondo, 35 of Globe, fired shots and threw objects out of the truck as they sped away. They stopped the truck in the road for an unknown reason at Top of the World, approximately six miles west of the Gila-Pinal county border east of Superior. Both were wounded in an exchange of gunfire with the authorities pursuing them.

The Superior ambulance responded to Top of the World and treated one of the suspects, according to Superior Public Safety Director Lou Digi-rolamo.

Both suspects were transported to Valley hospitals and their injuries were not fatal.

Digirolamo said the Superior K-9 unit deployed stop sticks when the truck first entered the town. But, he said the driver drove around the stop sticks and kept going. The K-9 unit was deployed to Top of the World but the dog was not released and did not bite anyone, he said.

The Town of Superior opened the Superior Senior Citizens Center on Main Street to the participating police officers so that they could come in out of the cold, Digirolamo said. At the center, the officers could have their statements taken during the investigation and have their weapons checked.

Southwest Towing of Superior participated in clearing the scene. Southwest picked up the three vehicles that had bullet holes in the windshields, including the truck the suspects had been driving. The towing company took the vehicles to the Department of Public Safety evidence lab in Phoenix.

Police cars involved in the chase came from various agencies, among them Gilbert, Mesa, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Pinal County Sheriffs Office, and Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.



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