A man suspected of shooting at a police officer during a traffic stop on Sunday was previously convicted in the 2013 shooting deaths of two Tucson men, court records show.
Antajuan Carson, 23, was critically injured after exchanging gunfire with a Tucson police officerΒ Alvaro Silva around 2 a.m. Sunday, police said.
Officer Silva conducted a traffic stop on a van the 5100 block of East First Street. After stopping, Carson, the driver of the vehicle, immediately fired upon Silva, a 3 1/2-year veteran of the police department, police say. Silva fired back, striking Carson multiple times, according to Tucson Police Department news release.Β Β
A passenger took control of the stopped vehicle and fled the scene near North Rosemont Boulevard and East Speedway Boulevard.
Carson was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Silva was not injured, according to the news release.
Carson was previously convicted of two counts of negligent homicide for the 2013 shooting deaths of 18-year-old Stanford Bell and 20-year-old Javohn Milne outside a crowded house party, where a third man survived being shot, according to court documents. Carson was sentenced to five years in prison and was released on Sept. 27, 2018 and was on parole until May 27, 2019.
Carson was originally convicted of the more serious crime of second-degree murder in the 2013 shooting. According to Arizona Daily Star archives, an appellate court overturned that conviction in February 2017, saying Carson wasn't allowed to argue defenses based on both self-defense and mistaken identity. The Arizona Supreme Court overturned the conviction and sentence, and remanded the case for a new trial in February 2018 where Carson plead guilty to negligent homicide.
Carson was incarcerated throughout the court proceedings and was given close to five years credit for time served at his Sept. 6, 2018 sentencing.
Carson was still in the hospital on Wednesday with life-threatening injuries, said Officer Ray Smith, a police spokesman. Police located the people in the vehicle that fled after the shooting, and no other arrests have been made at this time.
This is an ongoing police investigation. There is no more information at this time.Β
