In the early hours of a Sunday morning in August 2018, a night out tragically ended in the death of 21-year-old Kevin Carranza Acosta. The young man from Brookhaven was fatally shot in a triple shooting outside the Acapulco Restaurant and Bar on Buford Highway in DeKalb County. The incident unfolded at approximately 2 a.m. when a suspect's vehicle pulled up alongside the taxicab Acosta was in and opened fire.
The gunfire that claimed Acosta's life also injured two other individuals.
The cab driver, a 42-year-old man, was struck in the arm, and a 45-year-old woman from Chamblee, who was a bystander in the parking lot, was also wounded. Both of these victims were expected to recover from their injuries. In the immediate aftermath, police had limited information about the suspect or the vehicle involved in the shooting.
Within a week, investigators from the Brookhaven Police Department identified two suspects in the deadly shooting. Warrants were issued for 21-year-old Humberto Lorenzo Barcenas and 19-year-old Enrique Segura Diaz. The two were charged with felony murder, five counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Authorities believe an argument that began inside the restaurant and spilled out into the parking lot preceded the shooting. It was reported that Barcenas and Diaz retrieved a gun from a vehicle before the shooting occurred.
Following the identification of the suspects, law enforcement officials announced that Barcenas and Diaz were considered armed and dangerous. There was speculation that the two men may have fled to Mexico to evade capture. Police released a description of the vehicle they were last seen in, a red 1998 Acura Integra with a gray front bumper and mismatched rims, as they sought information from the public to locate the two men.
