Man was alive when set on fire in Phoenix dumpster, suspect tells police
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Two men are in custody in connection with a body that was found burned to death in a dumpster near downtown Phoenix. The suspects have been identified as Larry D. Scott, 22, and Isaiah M. Baskin, 18.
Tuesday morning, police were called to the area of 11th Avenue and Madison Street, known as “The Zone,” where they found a man’s burned body in a dumpster. Checking area surveillance cameras, detectives saw two men push a grocery cart to the dumpster around 2 a.m. that morning. The video shows the men struggle to lift the cart and dump it into the dumpster. A third person is then seen setting the dumpster on fire.
According to court documents, one of the three men, later identified as Baskin, was wearing unique clothing in the video and was found later that day watching the crime scene from across the street. Police say that’s where Baskin and Scott were arrested.
During an interview with investigators, Baskin reportedly admitted being involved in the crime. Per court documents, he said Scott and the third man beat the victim, then wrapped him in trash bags and put him in the grocery cart. Baskin then reportedly told investigators he helped Scott lift the cart into the dumpster.
According to the report, Baskin said he could still hear the victim moaning before he handed over a lighter that his friend used to set the dumpster on fire. He reportedly told investigators that the third man then gathered firewood to throw into the dumpster. Documents say the three men watched the fire burn for up to 20 minutes and that during that time, Baskin could hear banging noises coming from the dumpster that he believed was the victim.
Scott was previously one of several suspects arrested in connection with the shooting death of a 38-year-old woman outside a McDonald’s restaurant near 19th Avenue and Bell Road in April 2020. Court documents from Scott’s 2020 arrest say he and the other suspects were “driving around, looking for homeless people to shoot.” It’s currently unclear what developed in the case since then or why he was released from custody.
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