Mesa Arizona

From Mesa’s East Valley Tribune of July 8, 2006

Mesa man attacked mom prior to fatal shot, affidavit says

A Mesa mother used a handgun and drugs to protect herself from her violent 19-year-old son, court records indicate. On at least one occasion, Lisa Sarytchoff pointed the .38-caliber handgun at Alexander Sarytchoff before turning and firing into the wall of the Mesa home they had shared.

She also gave him a plastic bag of “green stuff ” that caused “strange odors” in an effort to keep him “calm and nice.”

Those details of the Sarytchoffs’ home life are contained in a search warrant affidavit and were provided by 10-year-old Shawn Sarytchoff to Mesa detectives investigating the June 7 fatal shooting of his older brother.

Lisa Sarytchoff admitted pulling the trigger and claimed self-defense, police said.

Mesa police spokesman Jerry Gissel said detectives have yet to submit the case for review to prosecutors at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, but they intend to.

Gissel said investigators found two witnesses who fled the house after the shooting, and they corroborated Lisa Sarytchoff’s version of events.

Shawn said his mother got the gun from his grandmother to protect herself from Alexander Sarytchoff who, according to police reports, was arrested in November after smashing a chair during an argument with his mother.

Shawn said that on the day before the fatal shooting he heard a commotion in the bedroom of the home at 9241 E. Ellis St. and walked in to find his brother standing over his mother, the warrant states.

The younger brother hit the older brother on the head with a frying pan, allowing him and his mother to flee for the night.

They returned to the house the next day, but Lisa and Alexander Sarytchoff got into another heated argument, this time over the use of her pickup truck. The shooting occurred afterward, the affidavit stated.