Pawn shop manager speaks out on Phoenix serial street shooting suspect's visits to the shop

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - New information are coming in Thursday in the serial street shootings case. FOX 10 Phoenix is hearing from a Pawn Shop manager about the suspect's gun purchase history.

On Monday, Aaron Saucedo was arrested in connection with the string of shootings, some of which were fatal. Saucedo has been accused in 12 separate shootings across the Valley, that spanned nearly a year. In all, police officials said nine people, including a young girl, were killed. Saucedo has claimed he is innocent.

Byron Vaughn, General Manager of "Mo Money Pawn Shop", as well as employees there, recall the young man that came in, on multiple occasions over the past couple of years, to purchase weapons. People recall Saucedo's first visit, on September 1, 2015. According to records, Saucedo pawned a hi-point 9mm handgun at that time.

According to court documents, Police later found that 16 days earlier, Saucedo allegedly used the gun to murder his mother's boyfriend, 61-year-old Raul Romero.

According to employees at the pawn shop, Saucedo would keep returning to the shop for weapons.

"They weren't expensive guns," said Vaughn. "They were $300-$400 range on guns he was buying."

Documents show Saucedo made his last purchase in February 2016, just a month before the first reported serial street shooter case. One year later, detectives their way to the pawn shop, looking for information about Saucedo.

"They came in, started asking questions about he was here at this date, and do we remember seeing him," said Vaughn.

Police tracked the gun Saucedo pawned in 2015, with ballistics test results matching evidence from the shooting of Romero. It wasn't until after Saucedo was arrested for Romero's murder that linked Saucedo to the serial street shootings.

Vaughn knows the shop did everything right.

"I know that I run the tightest ship in the pawn shop and gun business," said Vaughn. "My guys are well trained. If there's any red flags, they stop transactions immediately."