Kriti Mehrotra
After army veteran Christopher “Chris” Pelkey was shot to death in broad daylight during a red light at an intersection in Chandler, Arizona, on November 13, 2021, several questions arose. The triggerman was quickly identified as Gabriel “Gabe” Horcasitas, who never once denied being responsible for the incident, but he did maintain his innocence on the grounds of self-defense. That’s precisely what A&E’s ‘Accused: Guilty or Innocent?: Road Rage Murder or Self-Defense Shooting?’ chronicles, shining a light upon precisely what transpired on the fateful afternoon.
Gabe Horcasitas Has Long Claimed He Feared for His Life In a Confrontation With the Victim
A lifelong native of Phoenix, Arizona, Gabrial “Gabe” Horcasitas was admittedly leading a good, joyous, stable life when the entire world turned upside down for him in the late fall of 2021. According to his own accounts in the documentary, he was not only thriving as a business developer and engineer, but he was also excited to start a new chapter with his wife and 2 adult sons. We specify “new chapter” because he was gearing up for his 25th anniversary with the love of his life, Sheri Horcasitas, plus their two adult sons, Cody and Caleb, had completed their studies.
As per Gabe’s statements, the morning of November 13 was like any other Saturday for him as he went to get a haircut, had some chicken wings, and returned home to his loving, tight-knit family. However, he left home again in the afternoon to grab some personal items from a local grocery store, only to catch sight of a “big white truck coming up” behind him, really, really, really fast.” He claims the driver of that vehicle revved the engine before passing by and “diving” into his lane in such a rush that he had to brake hard, only for them to ultimately wind up at the same red light.
Gabe alleged he found himself behind the pick-up truck, so he gave a long honk, and the next thing he remembers is the driver getting out, throwing his hands in the air, and rushing towards him. According to the show, although he could see that the stranger approaching was unarmed, he grew fearful when he noticed a “clenched” fist, an angry expression, and the man’s fast pace. That’s when he claims he got defensive and pulled out his weapon, pulling the trigger only after the other man – later identified as Christopher Pelkey – allegedly told him, “I’ll destroy you with it.”
Contrasting Statements Made Gabe Horcasitas’ Case a Little Complicated
As per the episode, in the moment, Gabe genuinely believed Christopher would somehow get a hold of his weapon, pry his car door open, pull him out into the street, and shoot him to death. He said that’s why he fired his gun twice, with one bullet hitting its target and the other missing him before striking another car at the red light – thankfully, no one was injured from the second shot. According to records, Christopher stumbled back towards his vehicle upon getting injured and then collapsed in front of it, following which eyewitnesses called 911 to report the harrowing incident.
Gabe remained at the scene until officials arrived, so he was immediately detained on the charges of first-degree murder in Christopher’s death and public endangerment for the second rogue bullet. During his interrogation the same day, he told investigators that after the whole takeover incident, Christopher came at him aggressively while screaming something like, “F*** you, little man.” He added he tried to create a barrier by kicking his door open, but Christopher managed to get a hold of it. “I remember seeing his fingers, and he had the door,” he said, which is when he opened fire. However, with eyewitnesses detailing it looked to them like Christopher had not even made it past his truck’s rear tire when he was shot, the triggerman was formally arrested and indicted.
Gabe spent three days in prison before he was released on a $150,000 bond, but investigations into the matter continued, and attorneys also got involved to prepare for the impending trial. The accused’s statements to his attorney were a bit different from what he told officials, especially as he asserted Christopher did not touch his car and was likely a few feet away when he pulled the trigger. This particular account was verified by another eyewitness, who was sitting in her own vehicle directly beside Gabe’s car at the red light at the intersection of Gilbert Road and Germann Road. Surveillance footage from a store across the street also showed that Christopher was well past his rear tire when he stumbled back upon being shot, which contradicted 2 witness accounts.
Gabe Horcasitas is Currently Incarcerated in an Arizona Correctional Facility
All the aforementioned details came to light during Gabe’s trial in 2023, along with the fact that no one knew why Christopher was in a hurry on the fateful morning or why he might have been angry. The defense also learned that an analysis of the victim’s personal devices had been done, but the discovery was not even made known to them by anyone until an officer testified to it in court. This was significant because it could have contained possible exculpatory evidence that the defense didn’t even have a chance to examine, so they preserved their right to seek a mistrial/retrial. According to the show, the defense also shone a light upon Christopher being an army veteran who was allegedly struggling with PTSD as a theory for what the catalyst was that 2021 morning.
In the end, following 5 days of deliberations, the jury acquitted Gabe of first-degree murder but found him guilty on the lesser charges of manslaughter and public endangerment. His team immediately filed for a mistrial, which the judge dismissed before ruling he would allow a retrial on the grounds that the defense did not have all the discovery made available to them. It’s imperative to note that because the father of two was acquitted of first-degree murder, he could not be retried for it again. Hence, he only faced the charges of manslaughter and endangerment in his second trial.
Gabe pleaded guilty to the count of public endangerment in a pre-trial hearing on the advice of his attorney so that they could focus on the manslaughter charge alone in front of the jury. However, it did not pan out in the way they expected because this second jury also found the defense’s self-defense theory lacking and found the triggerman guilty of manslaughter in March 2025. On May 5, 2025, he was sentenced to 10½ years for manslaughter, which was ordered to run concurrently with the 2¼-year term he previously received upon pleading guilty to endangerment. Therefore, today, at the age of 55, he remains incarcerated at the level 3 medium-security Cibola Unit located within the Arizona State Prison Complex – Yuma in San Luis, Arizona.
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