The first morning of 2024 brought tragedy to the small community of Mount Angel, Oregon, when Brandon Daniel Slack, a 42-year-old White man, was fatally shot inside an apartment on North Pershing Street. What should have been the beginning of a new year became the final hours of Slack's life after a confrontation involving a man who investigators would later identify as Agustin Barocio. The shooting occurred shortly before 6:00 a.m.
on January 1, 2024, at an apartment in the 700 block of Pershing Street, near Marquam Street. Slack suffered a gunshot wound to his chest and died despite efforts to save his life.
According to court documents, Slack had been living at the apartment with a woman who was Barocio's former wife. Investigators believed tensions between the two men had been building before the fatal encounter. On December 24, 2023, approximately one week before the shooting, Barocio allegedly arrived at the apartment uninvited and became upset upon seeing Slack with his former wife. A verbal confrontation reportedly escalated into a physical altercation after Barocio refused to leave. Slack subsequently told a family member about the confrontation, describing injuries he sustained during the encounter. Prosecutors later sought to introduce information about this dispute as evidence of a possible motive for the killing.
During the early morning hours of January 1, investigators alleged that Barocio returned to the apartment while Slack and the woman were sleeping. According to evidence described in court filings, surveillance footage from a neighboring Ring camera appeared to show Barocio entering the apartment shortly before 5:40 a.m., carrying what resembled a camping chair bag. The woman reportedly awakened to find Barocio standing in the hallway holding a. 22-caliber rifle. Prosecutors alleged that Barocio shot Slack in the chest before turning the firearm toward his former wife and ordering her to leave with him.
Investigators alleged that Barocio then forced the woman into a vehicle and drove around with her for approximately ten minutes before returning her to the apartment. When she went back inside, she discovered Slack unconscious in the bathroom and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Neighbors heard a disturbance, came to investigate, and contacted emergency services at approximately 5:48 a.m. Deputies from the Marion County Sheriff's Office, assisted by officers from the Mount Angel and Silverton police departments, responded to the shooting. Emergency personnel continued attempts to revive Slack, but he was pronounced dead after medical responders arrived at approximately 6:08 a.m. Barocio had reportedly fled before officers reached the property.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office immediately began investigating the shooting. Detectives worked to identify the person responsible and reconstruct the events surrounding Slack's death. Later that evening, investigators and a SWAT team executed a search warrant in the nearby Gervais area, although the operation did not result in an arrest. By January 2, 2024, authorities had identified Agustin Barocio, also of Mount Angel, as their primary suspect. A Marion County judge authorized a warrant for his arrest in connection with the killing and additional alleged offenses involving his former wife. Mount Angel Police Chief Mark Daniel subsequently indicated that investigators believed Slack had been specifically targeted rather than killed during a random act of violence.
As the investigation progressed, prosecutors developed allegations extending beyond the fatal shooting itself. Court documents accused Barocio of stalking his former wife between December 1, 2023, and January 1, 2024, and engaging in unwanted contact that caused her to fear for her safety. Prosecutors also alleged that he unlawfully entered the apartment, held the woman against her will, threatened her with a firearm, and kidnapped her during the incident. A February 8, 2024, indictment included first-degree murder, an alternative second-degree murder charge, first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon, felon in possession of a firearm, menacing, and stalking.
Barocio remained a fugitive for several months while investigators continued searching for him. The case took an important turn on May 24, 2024, when United States Marshals located and arrested him in Mexico. Authorities reported that he was taken into custody without injuries during the operation. He was subsequently transported back to the United States and booked into the Marion County Jail on May 31, 2024. His arrest ended the months-long search and allowed prosecutors to proceed with the criminal case. Barocio made his initial court appearance in June 2024 and was held without bail.
Court proceedings subsequently revealed additional disagreements concerning the evidence. Prosecutors sought to introduce testimony about the December 2023 confrontation between Slack and Barocio, arguing that it could help establish a motive. Defense attorneys challenged the first-degree murder and burglary allegations, questioning whether sufficient evidence established that Barocio had unlawfully entered the apartment. They also disputed the connection between a firearm recovered during the investigation and the fatal shooting. Investigators had recovered a. 22-caliber cartridge casing from the apartment and a rifle in bushes near the residence of Barocio's parents. Testing by Oregon State Police did not establish that the recovered casing had been fired from that particular weapon.
The prosecution also sought to introduce evidence concerning Barocio's history of violence and his former wife's allegations of abuse. Court records described previous convictions involving violent offenses and firearms. Prosecutors argued that this history was relevant to the stalking allegations and the circumstances surrounding Slack's killing. The defense challenged the admissibility of certain evidence, raising concerns about whether allegations of previous misconduct could unfairly influence a jury. These disputes became an important part of the pretrial proceedings.
Barocio's murder trial was initially scheduled to begin on April 3, 2026, in Marion County Circuit Court before Judge Amy Queen. However, the proceedings were postponed in March 2026 after prosecutors filed additional evidentiary motions involving allegations of past violence. The delay allowed the court to address disputes over testimony and other evidence before the case could proceed to trial.
As of October 2026, Barocio remained in custody at the Marion County Jail, with the criminal case still listed in pretrial status. Jail records dated October 10, 2026, showed an upcoming court appearance scheduled for November 17, 2026, under case number 24CR00373. No conviction or sentencing for Slack's murder had been established in the available records. Barocio continued to face serious criminal charges, including first-degree murder, which could result in a lengthy prison sentence if he is convicted.
Brandon Daniel Slack was born on December 8, 1981, and died on January 1, 2024, less than a month after celebrating his birthday. His death transformed a personal conflict into a homicide investigation that ultimately extended beyond Oregon and across an international border. Although the arrest of a suspect represented an important development, the judicial process remained unfinished nearly three years after the shooting. For those who knew and loved Slack, the events of that New Year's morning left a lasting absence, while the prosecution continued seeking a legal resolution to the circumstances surrounding his death.
