Police: Teens' planed robbery of drug dealer turned deadly

Police arrested a teenage couple and their friend Tuesday on suspicion of murdering an alleged drug dealer after their plan to rob the man went awry, according to court records.

Peter Waymen James Jr. was found dead in the door way of his apartment on Feb. 13 by police responding to a 911 call about a shooting near 83rd Avenue and Indian School Road.

James was beaten and shot three times when he was discovered, according to court records.

Through investigation, police said they found Facebook messages arranging a meeting at James' apartment to buy marijuana and Xanax that lead them to identify a 16-year-old girl as a suspect in the crime.

Police said the girl admitted that the meeting was a set up, orchestrated by herself and two others who she refused to identify, after which the two were planning to rob James. She said she was offered a cut of the drugs they were going to steal, which she could then sell herself.

Court records identify the girl as a minor and though Arizona law requires prosecutors to charge children ages 15, 16 and 17 as adults for certain crimes, including murder, prosecutors could not immediately confirm whether the girl would be tried in Maricopa County Superior Court.

Police obtained a search warrant for the girl's phone and by examining text messages investigators were able to identify the two other suspects as Javier Cuevas, 20, and Jose Zamora, 19, the girl's boyfriend, according to court records.

The girl told police that Cuevas instructed her to search the apartment for any weapons or other people, according to court documents. The girl's text messages showed that she and Cuevas were texting back and forth while she was inside, police said. The girl also told police she drove the silver SUV that witnesses saw fleeing the scene with Cuevas and Zamora inside before it crashed into some mailboxes.

Cuevas told police that Zamora got into a physical fight with James after the girl left the apartment with $105 worth of Xanax. Cuevas also said he heard three gun shots.

Cuevas sustained a single gun shot wound to his left thigh, according to court records. Cuevas said he did have a .32-caliber handgun with him at the time, but that it was inoperable. He said that Zamora had a 9mm pistol as well.

Court records show Zamora told police he knew nothing about the incident.