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'Going to have to kill him': Cops on 911 call hear argument before learning man gunned down victim in fight over property, police say

 
Ronald McKinnon

Ronald McKinnon (Mohave County Sheriff's Office).

Police in Arizona said they overheard an argument during a 911 call before a man was found shot multiple times and left to die.

Ronald McKinnon, 35, faces charges including attempted homicide, homicide, two counts of aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and misconduct involving weapons, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office announced.

The defendant allegedly killed 70-year-old Willard Euguene Belt Jr. last weekend, according to law enforcement.

On Sunday at about 5:25 a.m., the sheriff's office said they got a 911 call where "an argument could be heard in the background." The line disconnected, and deputies responded to the 10000 block of Earls Road in Dolan Springs, Arizona.

Officers arrived to find Belt who had been "shot several times." The victim was reportedly "unresponsive" and was flown to a hospital in Las Vegas for emergency surgery.

Detectives with the Mohave County Sheriff's Office began investigating, and they served a search warrant at the property and collected evidence. The victim, once well enough to communicate the following day, also gave a statement.

Authorities say they learned McKinnon "had come to the residence" and started arguing with the victim "over property." According to Belt, McKinnon told him he was "going to have to kill him" before he allegedly shot a rifle "and struck the victim multiple times."

Investigators worked to learn more about the case, saying they reached out and "conducted surveillance of known associates of McKinnon." Detectives determined that on Saturday, McKinnon was at a residence with a 60-year-old female suspect, Angela Baker.

McKinnon reportedly got into an argument with another resident, grabbed a .22 rifle from his vehicle, and shot "at least one round into a vehicle on the property and then pointed the rifle at the residents, firing at least two additional rounds toward them," authorities said.

The weapon malfunctioned, and McKinnon and the woman allegedly drove away in a gray Chrysler convertible.

No one was injured.

Investigators say that on Thursday, they spotted the vehicle and pulled it over. Four people came out — including McKinnon and the woman — and they were detained. Detectives say that they soon after learned that Belt "succumbed to his injuries" at the hospital in Las Vegas.

McKinnon was booked into jail, as were 45-year-old John Carlton and Baker on one charge each of hindering prosecution.

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