A Phoenix man has been charged with carjacking, shooting a firearm and other violations during a late-morning incident earlier this month in the parking lot of a Peoria Target.

Adonijah Josiah Ortega, 19, was charged via criminal complaint for carjacking, using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and felon in possession of a firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix announced this week.

According to the complaint, at about 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 8, the suspect approached the victim while he was entering his vehicle in the parking lot of the Target store at 9350 W. Northern Ave., in Peoria.

The suspect pointed a semi-automatic handgun at him and demanded the victim give him his keys and wallet, authorities said.

He then hit the victim several times in the head with the handgun and fired his weapon twice, striking the victim once in the right thigh, according to officials.

The suspect then took the victim’s keys and fled the scene with the victim’s vehicle.

The victim limped toward the store, officials said, and was assisted until paramedics arrived. He was taken to a hospital with a gunshot wound and multiple lacerations to his head. 

A conviction for carjacking carries a maximum penalty of 25 years imprisonment. A conviction for discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence carries a minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life. A conviction for felon in possession of a firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

“A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence,” according to a release from the Phoenix office of the U.S. Attorney. “An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Peoria Police Department and the Phoenix Police Department are conducting the investigation in this case.

The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution.