DPS: Idaho family behind fatal melee at Cottonwood Walmart

A melee in a Walmart parking lot on Saturday night ended with one man dead, a second wounded, a Cottonwood police officer shot in the leg and seven members of an Idaho family arrested, according to police.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman said Cottonwood Sgt. Jeremy Daniels, 31, a 10-year-veteran, should make a full recovery from his injuries and is expected to be released soon from the Flagstaff Medical Center.

The man who died in the officer-involved shooting has not been positively identified and another man who was shot in the abdomen has not been identified, either, said Bart Graves, the DPS spokesman.

The wounded man is expected to be arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault when he is released from the hospital, Graves said.

The incident started Saturday night when a female Walmart employee was shoved aside when she tried to enter a restroom, Graves said.

When Cottonwood police arrived, members of an Idaho family that had been camping in the Walmart parking lot "immediately attacked the responding officers,'' Graves said.

"During the course of the fight, we believe there was a struggle for the officer's gun," he added.

Three shots were fired and three people were hit, Graves said. It is not clear at this time who fired the shots, but that will be determined by the investigation, he said.

He said seven members of the Idaho family were arrested, in addition to the man who was killed. Graves identified one suspect, Jeramiah Gaver, 29, of Boise, who was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault.

"The process of identifying all of these people is painstaking,'' Graves said. "We believe there is a family connection.''

Graves said the fight involved eight police officers and a Walmart loss-prevention officer, who went into the parking lot in an attempt to help. The officers suffered lacerations, bruises and a twisted ankle during the fight.

Although DPS released only one defendant's name, the other defendants names, booking photos and charges were released by the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, which has several members of the Gaver family in custody.

The other defendants were identified as Nathaniel Gaver, 27, accused of assault of a law-enforcement officer; Peter Gaver, 55, accused of hindering prosecution and resisting arrest; Ruth Gaver, 52, accused of assault of a law-enforcement officer; and David Gaver, who remains hospitalized.

The Gavers next court date is scheduled for March 31, according to Dwight D'Evelyn, a spokesman for the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office. He said two juveniles from the Gaver family are in custody at the Prescott Juvenile Detention Facility.

DPS identified the juveniles as a boy and a girl but did not release their ages.

Sgt. Tod Moore, a Cottonwood police spokesman, said the department has been involved in three officer-involved shootings during his six years in investigations.

"What makes this one unique was the whole family assaulting our officers,'' Moore said. "It was out of the blue. This family has been in Cottonwood for a month or two.''

Moore said the family had been living in a Chevrolet Suburban parked in the Walmart parking lot for a couple of days. Police had some minor dealings with family members previously.