PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A man accused of killing another man unprovoked near a Phoenix canal has reportedly confessed to the crime, according to documents newly obtained by Arizona’s Family.
On Wednesday, Phoenix police announced that 23-year-old Bryan Flores Barrientos was arrested in connection with the shooting death of 48-year-old Efrin Victor Evangelista.
Detectives credited a tip from a witness on Sept. 19, days before Evangelista’s body was found, who reported shots being fired in the area. While investigators were initially unable to find a scene or a victim, video surveillance identified Barrientos as the primary suspect.
Authorities said Barrientos was taken into custody on Wednesday and that he reportedly admitted to shooting Evangelista “without provocation” and that he hid the gun at a relative’s home after the shooting.
Investigators later searched the home and located the suspected firearm used in the killing.
In an interview with police, Barrientos stated that he had gone to the dirt area to practice target shooting, adding that he had been drinking alcohol and had been experiencing issues with his family.
Arresting documents detailed that Barrientos walked under the freeway, headed north, where he saw a man sleeping near the canal. At that point, he said that he took a “deep breath” and shot Evangelista eight times, according to the court paperwork.
Further in the interview, Barrientos explained that he had planned to steal the man’s backpack but didn’t, and instead left on a city bus, stopped by a fast-food restaurant before heading to his mother’s apartment to hide the gun, the paperwork stated.
Investigators later uncovered the gun during a search warrant and the clothing that he was allegedly wearing on the day of the murder.
Barrientos was booked into the Maricopa County jail on one count of second-degree murder. He is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond.
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