'Joy out of doing it': Jealous ex-con cut power to house before gunning down wife's former lover, police say
Gary Laverne Minor appears in court following his arrest in an Aug. 3 ambush shooting in Glendale, alongside Minor's mugshot and surveillance video from the scene. (Glendale Police Department / Maricopa County)
GLENDALE, Ariz. - A 54-year-old convicted felon is behind bars after Glendale police say a middle-of-the-night revenge scheme ended in a triple shooting outside a West Valley home.
What we know:
Gary Laverne Minor was arrested following a weeks-long investigation into an Aug. 3 ambush that left three people wounded outside a residence near 91st Avenue and Cardinals Way. The main target in the shooting died from his injuries about a month after the attack. Court documents reveal investigators believe Minor orchestrated the shooting out of intense jealousy over a prior romantic relationship between his wife and the victim.
The backstory:
The violent encounter unfolded around 2:40 a.m. at a home on West Cavalier Drive shortly after the house suddenly lost electrical power. When three residents stepped outside to investigate the power outage, an armed suspect wearing a headlamp ambushed them, firing multiple gunshots from a silver sedan before speeding away from the scene.
Featured
Glendale shooting: Surveillance video captures moments 3 people were shot outside home
A suspect is on the loose after police say three adults were shot on August 3 near 91st Avenue and Cardinals Way. The victims are expected to survive.
Surveillance video recorded a heavy-set person walking along the side of the home and cutting power to the main electrical box minutes before gunfire erupted. Police used Real Time Crime Center surveillance and license plate readers to trace Minor’s registered silver Kia Forte leaving the area right after the shooting. Investigators also obtained cell phone records that reportedly placed Minor's device in the vicinity of the victims' home at the exact time of the attack, and police say a search warrant executed on Minor's car turned up a headlamp matching the one the suspect was wearing.
Dig deeper:
Court records show Minor has a history of possessive and violent behavior toward his wife, including a prior conviction for holding her against her will at gunpoint inside a Phoenix hotel room. Investigators noted Minor held a deep grudge against the victim, who had previously provided housing to Minor’s wife while Minor was serving a prior prison sentence. When Minor’s daughter confronted him on Facebook Messenger regarding suspicions about the ambush, Minor allegedly denied hiring someone else to pull the trigger, stating he would want to "get the joy out of doing it" himself. Minor’s wife also told detectives that Minor admitted to the shooting during a phone call.
Surveillance video shows Glendale shooting
A camera recorded the moment shots were fired as victims checked an electrical box outside a Glendale home. FOX 10's Steve Nielsen reports.
What's next:
Minor was booked into Maricopa County jail on six felony charges, including first-degree murder and drive-by shooting. Held on a $2.2 million bond, he's due back in court on Thursday.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from the Glendale Police Department and Maricopa County Superior Court records.