On Easter, March 27, 2016, just before 8:00 p.m., shooting vicitm 22-year-old Eloy Lopez Moore was found by Tucson Police Department officers lying on the ground near the Oracle Road Target parking lot. Over time, as detectives continued to work investigative leads, information was developed that identified 24-year-old Maurice Patterson as the shooter.
On April 7, 2016, Homicide Investigators attempted to locate Patterson. While conducting surveillance, officers were able to identify Patterson leaving an apartment in the 7400 block of East 22nd Street. He was followed to a nearby recreational center where he was taken into custody without incident.
Patterson was admitted into the hospital that evening for personal medical issues unrelated to his arrest. On April 8, 2016, Patterson was released from the hospital and booked into the Pima County Jail on charges of First Degree Murder and Prohibited Possessor.