Three people were arrested this week in connection with the death of a good Samaritan in Arizona last month, authorities said.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department identified two of the three people arrested Monday as Jack Upchurch, 40, and Elmer Smith, 19. The third person is 16 years old. NBC News does not typically identify minors accused of crimes.
The trio was arrested in connection with the death of Paul Clifford, 53, whose body was found near a burning car northeast of Tucson last month.
Sabrina Vining, a woman who identified herself as Clifford’s daughter in an online fundraiser, said her father disappeared after leaving her home at 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 23 to help a “stranger with a stranded vehicle.”
Tucson’s NBC affiliate KVOA reported that Clifford’s family reported him missing after, they said, a strange man knocked on Clifford’s door and asked for help with his car.
He was later found dead, the sheriff’s department said. He did not provide a cause or manner of death.
Authorities said they received information Monday about a possible location of the three suspects.
Detectives searched the area and obtained a search warrant for a property, which was conducted by the Pima Regional SWAT team.
The suspects barricaded themselves inside a home and eventually called 911 to negotiate a surrender, the sheriff’s department said. They left the residence and were taken into custody.
The sheriff’s department did not release any information about a motive or how it connected the suspects to Clifford’s murder.
All three suspects were booked into the Pima County Adult Detention Center on felony warrants, authorities said.
It was not immediately clear if they have legal representation. Jail records do not list attorneys for any of the three.
Upchurch was being held on a $1 million bond, Smith on a $1.025 million bond and the juvenile on a half-million-dollar bond, according to jail records.
