Driver is suspected of hiding the bodies of two passengers
Phoenix — On August 19, 2018, at 1:30 a.m., a trooper responded to a report of an unknown injury crash southbound along State Route 143 near the Interstate 10 junction. Upon arrival, the trooper located a heavily damaged 2015 Nissan passenger vehicle. A witness observed a white male walk away from the vehicle. After a walk through of the area, the trooper was unable to locate the driver of the vehicle, or victims from the crash.
At 9:00 p.m., Phoenix Police received a 911 call, requesting a welfare check on two bodies in the bushes approximately 50 feet south of the earlier crash scene. The family of one of the victims had tracked a cellular phone signal to the location. Two men were found deceased and it appeared they had been concealed with foliage.
Later, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office notified AZDPS they received a call from Bryon Jesus Carrillo who reported being a passenger in the Nissan during the crash. During an interview, Carrillo said he and his friends had been drinking at a Tempe bar and were headed home to Maricopa at the time of the crash. Carrillo claimed to have climbed out of the wrecked vehicle and looked for his two friends, who were passengers, but did not find them. Carillo said the driver, Thomas Robert Sikes, encouraged him to leave the area with him. The two were picked up by Sike’s girlfriend at a nearby gas station. Sikes, Carillo and Sikes’ girlfriend [Adriana Colin-Lemus] failed to call 911 to report the deadly crash.
Detectives arrested Thomas Robert Sikes, age 22, of Maricopa on two counts of Manslaughter and one count of Endangerment. Byron Carrillo, age 21, of Maricopa was arrested for Obstruction of a Criminal Investigation. Adriana Colin-Lemus, age 25, of Peoria was arrested for Hindering Prosecution.
The deceased victims were identified as Johnnie Verdoza, age 21, of Maricopa, and Carlos E. Monteverde Garcia, age 25, of Sonora, Mexico.
