Man arrested in deadly ‘love triangle’ shooting, Phoenix police say

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Police say a suspect accused of killing another man in downtown Phoenix several days ago was the result of a dispute over their relationship status and ownership of a car, according to newly obtained court documents.

Phoenix police announced that 33-year-old Khalid Williams was taken into custody for the suspected murder of 35-year-old Keshawn Stewart.

According to authorities, officers were called to 17th Avenue and Maryland Avenue around 5 p.m. on Dec. 23 for reports of a shooting. They found that Stewart had been shot at least once. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries.

Police believed Stewart got into an argument with the suspect, which led to the shooting.

Court documents say Williams was involved in a “love triangle” between himself, Stewart and a pregnant woman who was in the vehicle when Stewart was shot.

Williams was arrested Wednesday and charged with several charges, including first-degree premeditated murder and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

During an interview with investigators, he reportedly said he had known Stewart for about six years and had a long history of arguments between them. He told investigators that they broke up in October when he discovered Stewart was dating a woman and may have gotten her pregnant.

He said he tried to maintain a “friendly relationship” through November but was still arguing over a car that Stewart owned but that Williams reportedly paid for.

According to the documents, the two men were arguing about the car and their relationship on Monday when Stewart and the woman reportedly came to Williams’ apartment.

At that point, Williams reportedly told police that he took out his AK-47 because he felt the need to defend himself. However, he said he never knew any of the victims were carrying weapons.

When Williams was shown video of the shooting, he said, “He didn’t deserve this” and never denied being the shooter, according to court documents.

He told investigators he was not in the right frame of mind and learned Stewart had died after doing a Google search about the incident.

Williams said the only thing he could do was “take responsibility and pray for forgiveness.”

He has now been booked into the Maricopa County Jail, where he is being held on $1 million bail.

Do you see a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a recent news story? Send it to us here with a short description.

Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.