PHOENIX, AZ – Streets that once bustled with the ordinary routines of daily life turned suddenly perilous over two weeks in November, as an armed rider on an electric bicycle haunted the city’s north side. Before it was over, two men were dead and a neighborhood shaken, victims of a spate of random violence that authorities say left families and bystanders grasping for answers.
Adalberto Pablo Cordova Torres, 21, now faces two counts of first-degree murder and a charge of firing into an occupied residence, following a grim trail that began with gunfire into a home and escalated into fatal shootings. Investigators allege that between November 11 and November 29, Cordova Torres prowled the area between 19th Avenue and Greenway Road, sometimes in the deep hours of night, leaving chaos in his wake.
The first sign of trouble came in the early morning on November 11, when a bullet-riddled house alerted residents to the threat lurking in the darkness. No one was injured in that initial attack, but it marked only the beginning.
By November 24, the violence had turned deadly. Marcus Adams, 45, was found mortally wounded just after 3 a.m. near 19th Avenue and Greenway Road. Responding officers discovered Adams had been shot nine times, with 14 spent shell casings scattered near the body. Less than a week later, tragedy struck again. Andreas Olguin, 29, was targeted at a bus stop on 19th Avenue and Thunderbird Road shortly after 2 a.m. Olguin suffered 11 gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, his life cut short as he waited for a bus in the pre-dawn calm.
Olguin’s mother described the heartbreaking loss of her son, highlighting the shocking randomness of the attack. Detectives informed her that the killer and victim had never met, underscoring the senselessness of the violence that upended two families and frayed the nerves of the surrounding community.
For the police, the puzzle pieces began to come together after ballistic analysis linked shell casings from all three shooting scenes. Investigators from the separate cases began working jointly, combing through evidence and examining possible connections. Security cameras in the neighborhoods ultimately revealed crucial footage, capturing a suspect on an e-bike approaching both Adams and Olguin before unleashing a hail of bullets and quickly escaping.
According to court records, Cordova Torres is believed to have used a 9mm handgun in each attack. Surveillance footage, along with other evidence, placed him at or near each of the crime scenes. Police traced his employment to a workplace situated less than eight miles from the shootings, with records indicating he worked night shifts prior to the murders.
The details emerging from the investigation have offered little comfort to those left behind. Olguin’s mother expressed her determination to seek justice for her son and for Adams, both whose lives ended abruptly and inexplicably.
Cordova Torres was arrested last Thursday and is currently held on $3 million bond as the legal process moves forward. He is expected to appear in court on December 11 as the city tries to make sense of the violence that shook a quiet stretch of Phoenix.