Fellow Phoenix police officers read a letter at the makeshift memorial for Nick Erfle, who was killed Tuesday near this spot after stopping what turned out to be an illegal entrant for jaywalking.

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PHOENIX — The man who shot and killed a Phoenix police officer before he himself later was fatally shot by authorities was an illegal entrant, a federal official said Wednesday.

Erik Jovani Martinez, 22, was in the country illegally last year when he was arrested and convicted on theft charges, said Vinnie Picard, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

He said Martinez was deported on March 3 last year, and at some point re-entered the country illegally.

Mayor Phil Gordon called Martinez a "poster child" for failed federal efforts to tighten border security.

"I have a message for the federal government. Our officers are paying the price. This community is paying the price," Gordon said at a news conference. "When are you going to do your job and secure our borders?"

Martinez was stopped by Phoenix police Officer Nick Erfle on Tuesday for jaywalking on a busy central Phoenix street. Knowing he had a felony arrest warrant for aggravated assault, police said Martinez gave them an alias.

But that plan backfired when the alias turned up a different arrest warrant for shoplifting out of Tucson. When Erfle and his partner tried to arrest Martinez, a fight ensued, Martinez pulled a gun and fatally shot Erfle, said Phoenix police Sgt. Joel Tranter.

He said Martinez then ran from the scene, jumped into a car stopped in traffic, and told the man inside to drive as he pointed a gun at him.

A patrol officer spotted the car an hour later, said Police Chief Jack Harris. More police arrived and blocked the car from all directions. An officer fatally shot Martinez when he pointed his gun at his captive's head, Tranter said. Martinez died in the car, and the captive was unharmed.

Lt. Benny Pina said the bench warrant against Martinez, issued in January, stemmed from a June 2006 assault against his girlfriend involving a shotgun. A detective working on the case was unable to locate Martinez, a member of a street gang, to arrest him.

Erfle, a 33-year-old married father of two and an eight-year veteran of the force, was pronounced dead at the hospital.

A makeshift memorial consisting of a white cross, flowers and stuffed animals has been erected near the shooting scene. It's also become a gathering place for fellow officers to mourn their loss.