PHOENIX (TCD) — An 18-year-old and 22-year-old have been arrested in connection with the death of a man found fatally burned in a dumpster last week near a dense homeless encampment.
According to KSAZ-TV, the victim’s body was found March 21 at approximately 8 a.m. in an area of downtown Phoenix known as “The Zone,” where hundreds of homeless people sleep and live. Police reportedly said at the time they could not identify the victim “due to the burn injuries covering his body.”
Court documents cited by KSAZ allege three men walked to the dumpster and put the man’s body inside the receptacle. One of the suspects, Isaiah Baskin, reportedly told police he saw his friend Larry Scott and the third suspect attack the victim, wrap him in trash bags, then put his body in the shopping cart. Baskin allegedly helped move the victim from the cart into the dumpster.
KSAZ reports the three men found wood and put it in the dumpster, too. Baskin allegedly pulled out a lighter, and the unnamed suspect used it to light the contents on fire.
Court documents say Baskin “and his friends watched the fire blaze for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.”
Baskin told investigators he heard “banging noises coming from inside of the metal dumpster which he believed to be caused by the victim inside.”
According to AZFamily.com, Baskin and Scott were located and taken into custody across the street from the crime scene.
Maricopa County records show Baskin is facing charges of first-degree murder and arson.
Arizona Republic reports Scott was booked into custody on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, arson, and concealment of a dead body, while Baskin also faces a drug charge.
The victim’s identity has not been released.
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