A Tucson man has been arrested on suspicion of second degree murder after police say he deliberately struck and killed a man walking along a neighborhood street Tuesday afternoon on the city's south side.
About 4:15 p.m. March 18, Jesus Sierra, 24, was speeding along the 7200 block of South San Fernando Avenue in a silver Hyundai Accent when he aimed the vehicle at a man walking with a bicycle, Tucson police said. The neighborhood is near West Los Reales Road between South Sixth and South 12th Avenues.
Witnesses said the Accent was traveling between 40 mph and 70 mph when it struck Cesar Francisco Gutierrez, 43, from behind.
Video showed Sierra’s vehicle accelerating toward Gutierrez and launching him onto the hood after he was struck near a speed hump.
The car then runs over the bicycle after going airborne.
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An investigator noted in an interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court that the driver’s behavior — including maintaining control of the vehicle and making deliberate maneuvers — indicated the collision was intentional.
Police found a vehicle covered with a tarp when they went to Sierra's home after he was identified as the car's owner. After obtaining a search warrant, investigators saw that it was missing both bumpers and had windshield damage, the court filing says.
Sierra’s father told police the damage to the car occurred on the same day as the fatal hit-and-run, the complaint said.
Sierra was being held at the Pima County jail on a $500,000 bond.
