Woman charged after alleged rage-driven shooting in Mesa

MESA, Ariz. – A Valley woman was arrested and charged with driving with aggression in connection with an apparent cause shooting in Mesa, court records show.

According to the documents, a victim called Mesa police shortly after 10 p.m. on August 7 and reported that another driver had shot at her in an apparent case of driving aggression.

The driver told police they were traveling westbound on McKellips Road in Mesa when they had to make a merge maneuver just past Recker Road as the road narrowed from three lanes to two.

As the driver stopped at a red light at the intersection of McKellips and Higley Road, a black SUV pulled up next to him and the driver rolled down the window.

The victim told officers that a Hispanic woman began yelling at her. The victim then yelled back, which led to an argument between the drivers, according to court documents.

During the argument, the victim told the other driver that her spouse and two-year-old child were in the car with them, and the other driver said that her child was also in the car with her.

After the light turned green, both vehicles headed west on McKellips Road, and the victim's spouse saw the other driver pull out a gun and shoot her, documents say.

The victim then sped away, drove to a family member's house and called the police.

The victim's car was not hit by the bullet and no one in the car was shot.

The victim's car also recorded the entire incident, as it was equipped with cameras inside and out. The victim turned the footage over to police, who helped police identify the shooter as 24-year-old Alyssa Soto, court documents state.

According to police, Soto was driving her grandmother's SUV when the shooting occurred, and officers saw the SUV in front of Soto's home in Apache Junction.

According to court documents, officers were able to find a shell casing on McKellips Road as well as the bullet fired at the Chevron gas station at the intersection of Higley and McKellips roads.

On Aug. 15, officers executed a search warrant at Soto's home and found a 9 mm handgun. The bullets in the gun's magazine matched the shell casings found at the crime scene, documents say.

Officers arrested Soto on August 16 at 10:25 a.m.

Court documents state that Soto told officers the victim cut her off and hit her bumper. She tried to tell the victim that they had hit her car and they needed to stop and talk, but after the argument, she became so upset and frustrated that she pulled out her 9mm handgun and fired at the other car.

Soto told police that she was not trying to hurt anyone in the other car, but that she acted out of frustration and anger.

She said he later drove to her grandmother's house and stayed there for a while before driving home.

Officers asked her why she didn't call the police after she said the other car hit her, but according to court documents, Soto had no answers for officers.

Soto was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm and discharging a firearm into a building.

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