Apache Junction neighbors say they warned management about man before deadly shooting
APACHE JUNCTION, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Police in Apache Junction say 73-year-old William Porter, who was being evicted, planned for weeks to shoot and kill his next-door neighbor, who was also his property manager. The whole thing ended with a SWAT standoff at their mobile home park on Sunday. Some neighbors say they warned their previous management that they felt unsafe living there with Porter around.
Police say Porter shot 66-year-old Fredrick Bevington in the head on Sunday and intended to kill his girlfriend, too. Neighbors who knew Fredrick “Chuck” Bevington say he was compassionate and always willing to lend a hand. Connie Tilton lived next door to Bevington and his partner. She says Sunday afternoon she heard a loud bang and walked outside of her home to see Bevington had been shot in the head. “My frustration is, because I’m a single woman, I went to management saying I was scared living next to him,” she said. “We lost one incredible man,” Tilton added. “Gae and Chuck were just incredible friends. I called them my guardian angels. I didn’t know if Gae had been hit because she had blood all over the front of her.”
Court documents show Porter planned the shooting for several weeks and decided to do it on Sunday because Bevington didn’t park his truck in the driveway, which was blocking his view of the outside table. He told detectives he shot him due to an ongoing dispute and intended to kill the couple after receiving an eviction notice. “It was just chaos. Utter chaos,” Tilton said.
Police say there was a history of fights between the two and say Bevington was the new property manager as of last week. “They were always there for me and here for a lot of people in the park,” Tilton said.
She says Porter was volatile and that she didn’t feel safe living next to him. “I’m a big believer of the Second Amendment but this guy should not have had loaded firearms,” Tilton said.
She described Bevington and his girlfriend as welcoming and said they often visited with neighbors in the park. “To see what she had to see, she saw him get shot in his head. How shocking would that be,” Tilton said. “My heart just hurts for her. How is she going to go on without her partner?”
Porter was booked into jail on one count of first-degree murder. His bond is set for $500,000.
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