NORTHAMPTON — Two men arrested Tuesday in connection with the Oct. 15 shooting death of an 31-year-old Amherst man were ordered held without bail in an Arizona court and are expected to appear for an extradition hearing there as early as Friday, according to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.
Soknang Chham, 33, and Soksot Chham, 35, both of New Salem, Massachusetts, appeared Wednesday in a Coconino County court in Flagstaff, Arizona, where they were ordered held without bail after being taken into custody by the U.S. Marshals Service. The arrests came after investigators learned that the men had left Massachusetts on a bus bound for Phoenix.
The shooting at Southpoint Apartments in Amherst left Jose M. “Joselito” Rodriguez, a father of three children, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Another man, whom officials have not identified, was also shot multiple times and was treated for serious injuries and released at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, according to the DA’s office.
Soknang Chham was arrested on a warrant charging him with murder and armed assault with intent to murder, and Soksot Chham was charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder. The two men are believed to be brothers, according to the DA’s office.
If they waive extradition, they would be returned to Massachusetts in the coming weeks for arraignment in the Eastern Hampshire District Court, said Mary Carey, a spokeswoman for the DA’s office.
Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive for the shootings. The incident remains under investigation by the Amherst Police Department and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office.