Cornville AZ (March 4, 2020) – On March 2, 2020, around 10:15 PM, deputies were dispatched to a weapons offense call in the 1400 block of South Chick Road, Cornville. Callers reported they could hear a man yelling and believed someone had been shot.
Deputies were directed to an RV on the property where the disturbance was occurring and saw a male laying on the ground in front of the RV. He was later identified as 64-year-old Michael Snell who is a resident in the trailer park. During the contact with Snell, a man inside the trailer told deputies he had been shot and was not armed.
Snell was taken into custody without incident. Deputies entered the trailer and found a 60-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound to his chest. Pending the arrival of medical personnel, deputies used a chest seal type bandage on the wound from a portable trauma kit. The victim was eventually flown to Flagstaff Medical Center for treatment and as of this writing, he is in stable condition. A handgun was recovered at the scene.
Witnesses reported that there was some type physical struggle between the two apparently over an ongoing neighbor dispute. The witnesses saw the suspect ‘choking’ and ‘beating’ the victim even after the victim was shot. Witnesses indicate Snell was also armed with a knife.
Snell refused to discuss the incident other than admitting he went to the victim’s trailer to confront him about their ongoing dispute over money owed.
Snell was booked into the Camp Verde Detention Center on charges including Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Assault causing Serious Injury, Burglary, Threatening and Trespassing. Bond is set at $125,000.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Bureau have been on scene throughout the night to handle the follow-up investigation.
