A 36-year-old San Tan Valley gunman, armed with an automatic rifle, extra rounds of ammunition and body armor, was arrested on a variety of charges in connection with the May 24 shooting at six vehicles involving 13 victims on State Route 87, according to an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman.

James David Walker was booked into the Fourth Avenue Jail on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, endangerment, armed robbery, theft of means of transportation and possession of dangerous drugs.

Walker was convicted of second-degree murder in 1997 in the shooting of a 40-year-old Chandler man. He was let out of prison in 2011 on supervised release, the terms of which ended in 2014.

Multiple police agencies, including Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputies, Salt River police and Fort McDowell police, responded after witnesses reported a person in a parked vehicle was shooting at passing cars at about 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, on the state highway south of Shea Boulevard.

Upon arriving, they found a victim, Christoper Ellis, 26, whose head was grazed by a bullet. He sought his own medical treatment. His car caught on fire from gunshots and was destroyed.

A second victim was struck in the leg and drove to Fort McDowell Casino to summon help. That victim was taken to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

The suspect fled to the Ba’ja convenience store across from Fort McDowell Casino where he carjacked a patron at gunpoint and headed north.

During the search for the suspect, a trooper received gunfire to his patrol vehicle. He was not injured.

Police lost sights of the gunman for about three hours when the stolen car was located in a ditch off the highway. Mesa Police Department’s helicopter found Walker lying on the ground in a fetal position about a half-mile south of the stolen vehicle.

A SWAT team took him into custody. Outside the stolen car, troopers found the AR-15 rifle, numerous magazines of ammunition and body armor. The highway was closed for more than five hours.