Court record: Tucson girl dumped in pool after being shot in head

A 17-year-old girl was shot in the head by a teen playing with a gun last week before her body was dumped into a swimming pool, a new court filing says.

Juventino Cervantes-Burke, 16, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after the body of Azucena Reina Price was found March 15 outside a duplex near East Fifth Street and North Country Club Road.

Officers noticed a blood trail outside the door as well as inside the residence. They then found Price’s body in a backyard pool, according to an interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court. Price had been shot in the head, the complaint says.

Joshua Galen Wood, 19, told police that he had a party at the duplex. He initially told police he’d gone outside, heard a loud noise and returned to find everyone gone, the complaint says.

Christopher Deangelo Bravo, 19, who was also inside the residence with Wood, told him to tell the truth, telling officers “something bad had happened.”

After changing his story multiple times, Wood told police Cervantes-Burke was inside playing with a loaded handgun. While he was “recklessly handling the gun” it fired and struck Price, the court document says.

After the shooting, Cervantes-Burke left the handgun at the residence and fled. Wood then used sheets to move Price’s body to the pool and set them on fire, court records say.

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Wood said he also buried the gun and called Bravo for help.

Bravo arrived at the residence and dug up the handgun, telling Wood it was not a good idea to hide the gun close to Price’s body, the complaint says.

Officers eventually found the gun hidden inside Bravo’s vehicle. Later he told police “it would be bad for both of his friends if the gun were to be found,” the complaint says.

Burke was later found at his grandmother’s house and was booked into the Pima County jail.

Wood was arrested on suspicion of concealment of a dead body, tampering with evidence, hindering prosecution and two counts of third-degree burglary.

Bravo was also arrested on suspicion of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution.