In the late hours of May 18, 2017, the quiet of a Tempe, Arizona apartment complex was shattered by the sound of gunfire. When police responded to the scene at the Garden Grove Apartment Homes, they discovered a car with its engine still running. Inside, they found the bodies of 20-year-old DeSean Estrada and 16-year-old Kayon Williams. Both had been fatally shot.
Estrada was in the driver's seat, and Williams was in the front passenger seat.
Investigators soon determined that the shooting was not a random act of violence. It is believed that Estrada and Williams were at the apartment complex to meet with several individuals for a drug transaction. A third person in the car with Estrada and Williams was also shot during the incident but sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was able to provide police with information about the suspects.
The investigation led to the arrest of four young men in connection with the double homicide: 18-year-old Brandon Nichols, 18-year-old Taylor Bush, 19-year-old Montre Williams, and 20-year-old Justin Santos. They were taken into custody and faced charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and armed robbery.
Nearly a year later, in March 2018, a fifth suspect was arrested. Adrian Carlos Barrios, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, was taken into custody on a grand jury warrant. Evidence, including cell phone data, placed him at the scene of the crime, and it was discovered that he had been in communication with one of the victims before the deadly encounter. Barrios also faced charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted armed robbery.
