Inset: Brandon Alvarez (Maricopa County Jail). Background: The area of 39th and Maryland avenues in Phoenix, Arizona, where Alvarez allegedly shot his stepfather to death (Google Maps).
An internet outage at an Arizona home sparked a man to murder his stepfather, authorities allege.
Phoenix police said its officers responded around 7:30 p.m. Sunday to a home near 39th and Maryland avenues after 31-year-old Brandon Alvarez called 911 and told dispatchers he shot his stepfather Jaunarius Moreno. Officers rushed to the scene where they found the 57-year-old Moreno suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
It all began when the internet was cut off by mistake while a new service was being installed, according to a criminal complaint obtained by local CBS affiliate KPHO. Family members knew this would upset Alvarez so they called Moreno, who was not at home at the time, to take care of the situation.
Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.
But Moreno was reportedly upset that Alvarez, his wife and their two children were using the internet for free. After Moreno arrived home, he grabbed a flashlight and went to the backyard to see if he could fix it. That”s when he saw his stepson, who was sitting by a wood fire, the complaint says.
Moreno reportedly dropped the flashlight and walked toward Alvarez “with nothing in his hands in an aggressive manner.” Alvarez allegedly pulled out a gun and fired four times, hitting his stepdad. Alvarez reportedly told cops he was worried that Moreno would try to attack him or take his gun away. He said he checked on his children who were in the home at the time of the shooting before leaving the gun in the bedroom and calling 911.
First responders pronounced Moreno dead at the scene.
Police determined Moreno posed no threat to Alvarez as he was unarmed. The defendant now stands accused of second-degree murder. He remains at the Maricopa County Jail.
