A Tucson man was properly convicted of the 2018 fatal stabbing and shooting of his wife while they were traveling on Interstate 10 with their child in the vehicle, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled.
Leroy Calderon Jr. was found guilty by a jury last year of first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, child abuse, endangerment, and possession of a deadly weapon by a prohibited possessor. He was sentenced to several prison terms, the longest being natural life.
After sentencing, Calderon’s court-appointed attorney reported she could find no “meritorious issue to raise on appeal” and asked the court of appeals to search the case record for error. On Nov. 5, the court issued a unanimous decision noting no fundamental, reversible error was found.
“Viewed in the light most favorable to sustaining the verdict…the evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s finding of guilt,” according to the decision. The court did, however, correct the written record of Calderon’s kidnapping sentence from 10 years to 10.5 years to match what Judge James Marner ordered during sentencing.
Court records show Calderon’s wife was driving on I-10 near Kolb Road on Feb. 22, 2018 as the couple argued. A seven-year-old boy was in the backseat when Calderon grabbed the wheel, forcing the car into the median.
The wife was shot at least twice, including once in the back of the head as she struggled to get out of the car. A bloody knife was also found in the car; it matched several wounds to the woman’s neck, arm, and chest.
Calderon’s criminal history included prison time for two 2006 felonies out of Yavapai County as well as a conviction for a 2010 aggravated assault in Pima Maricopa County. He is currently housed at the Arizona State Prison Complex – Eyman in Florence.