PHOENIX (CBS5) -
A Phoenix man faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with a homicide Tuesday morning.
A man who identified himself as Francisco Javier Cabrera-Soto, 25, is accused of shooting Ismael Cuevas Ante, 34, at an apartment at 1700 N. 31st Place. Ante was found dead at the scene.
Police said the man had been shot at least one time at about 2:50 a.m. A taxi cab Ante had been driving was found parked about 15 feet from the victim.
The apartment manager said the apartment where the shooting occurred had just been rented by two men. The manager showed police a photograph he had taken on his cell phone of the identifications of the two men. One of the men was identified as Alexeis Pompa, who was taken into custody the next day on misdemeanor warrants.
The other identification was a photo of a Sonora, Mexico, drivers license issued to Jose Castro Perez.
Police said Pompa told them the other man that rented the apartment with him was Pancho, whose last name was not given. Pompa confirmed that the person in the photo was the man known to him as Pancho. Pompa told police he and another man known only as Scrappy was present at the apartment when Ante was shot and killed.
Pompa said he went to the bathroom and came out to the front room to find Ante lying on the ground with Pancho standing over him with a gun, according to a court document.
Police conducted surveillance of another apartment at 5111 N. 16th Dr. where they believed Pancho might be located. A man was observed leaving the apartment and walking away. Officers stopped him and the man confirmed Pancho was inside the apartment.
A short time later, a man matching the description and photograph of Perez was seen leaving the apartment and putting backpacks into a vehicle. The man told officers his name was Francisco Javier Cabrera-Soto. Police found he had a drivers license in the name of Jose Castro Perez.
A fingerprint check was conducted on Cabrera-Soto and did not match any fingerprints on record or in the database. Police said the man's true identity is not known.
Police learned the man known as Scrappy was identified as Erik Mendoza. Mendoza was arrested on charges of possessing a stolen 45-caliber semi-automatic handgun.
Police released Pompa after they got done interviewing him.
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Police said the unidentified man had been shot at least one time about 2:50 a.m.
