In the early morning hours of Sunday, Oct. 8, a confrontation unfolded at the Speedway Gas Station located at 999 S. Main Street in Cottonwood.
After an extensive investigation involving multiple departments, the Cottonwood Police Department and other agencies identified and arrested three individuals associated with the altercation: Joshua David Squires, 18, of Cottonwood; Payden Dunegan, 19, of Camp Verde; and Samuel Roy Edwards, 20, of Rimrock.
Law enforcement officers were called to the scene after a dispute between two groups escalated, resulting in a dangerous exchange involving firearms and an axe.
According to Cottonwood Police Department Sgt. Cody Savage, during the confrontation, a member of one group brandished a loaded handgun, pointing it at two individuals in the second group.
In response, a subject from the second group approached the members of the first group with an axe. The first group quickly fled the scene, but the situation intensified when, while stopped at the red light at Main and State Route 260, a member of the first group discharged a handgun at the second group, Savage stated.
No injuries were reported, as the gunfire narrowly missed individuals from the second group and several uninvolved bystanders in the area, Savage stated.
Cottonwood police responded to the incident, but both groups had left the scene before their arrival.
After they were identified and arrested, the three men were booked into the Yavapai County Detention Center in Camp Verde, facing various felony charges.
Squires was charged with false reporting.
Denegan was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of weapons misconduct.
Edwards was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of weapons misconduct, one count of criminal defacement or damage and five counts of endangerment.
Edwards also faces a warrant for criminal damage, disorderly conduct and failure to appear from offenses allegedly committed in June.
“We take any incident involving firearms and public endangerment seriously,” interim Cottonwood Chief of Police Christopher Dowell stated. “Our priority is to ensure the safety of our community, and we commend the collaborative efforts of the multiple departments involved in swiftly resolving this matter.”
The Cottonwood Police Department encourages anyone with additional information regarding this incident to come forward and contact the Cottonwood Police Department online at cottonwoodaz.gov.
Christopher Fox Graham
Larson Newspapers
