Man indicted on second-degree murder charge after deadly Tucson fight

A 34-year-old Tucson man was indicted by a federal grand jury on a count of second-degree murder, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says.

Officials say Santiago Luis Valencia, Jr., a member of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, was involved in a fight on June 15 with a male only identified in court records as R.V.

During the fight, a witness told Pascua Yaqui police that Valencia repeatedly slammed the victim's head into a concrete windowsill on the outside of a home, court records say.

Witnesses told police that Valencia and the victim had been drinking alcohol together prior to the fight. 

R.V. was found bleeding and unconscious at 7634 S. Camino De Oeste, on Tucson's southwest side. He was taken to a local hospital where he died the next day, court records say. 

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A witness said Valencia fled the scene, adding that R.V. had a known prior head injury from an aneurysm and that family knew he could not be hit in the head, court records state.

Valencia was arrested later at a residence.

A second degree murder conviction carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and five years of supervised release.