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Surprise PD detain, release 'gunman' in shooting

Posted at 2:34 AM, Apr 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-26 22:27:12-04

Surprise police said they have identified the gunman in Monday night’s deadly shooting of 32-year-old Roberto Rodriguez, a father of three.

Although police detained Aristeo Bahena Estrada, 29, they have since released him without booking him or charging him.

Police said Rodriguez and Estrada were known to each other, and Rodriguez went to the neighborhood near Dysart and Greenway Roads to meet Estrada. 

Rodriguez's family says he was confronting Estrada over some money he owed Rodriguez's sister.

“My brother always worried about my sister. He always worried about people that tried to take advantage of her," said Luis Rodriguez, the victim's twin brother. “One thing led to another, and he confronted the person about what was going on between my sister and him, and now my brother isn’t here with us.”

Police said witnesses saw Estrada run from the scene. Hours after the shooting, police found Estrada hiding under a neighbor’s truck.

“So, I’m guessing in his head he’s like, 'Well, let me just hide here. They will cover for us.' But no, it doesn’t work that way," said a neighbor who would only identify as Cristina. 

Another neighbor said he saw Estrada around the neighborhood just last week. 

“[He] came around and said that the victim and the victim’s sister and another party had jumped him, and he was beat up pretty bad," said Alfonso Romero, who lives near the shooting scene.

Rodriguez was married and had three kids, ages 18, 13 and 6, according to his brother. 

Rodriguez's twin said his brother painted homes for a living and was working on becoming a barber, but now his dreams are cut short.

“Things won’t be the same without him. He’s my other half, my better half, my friend, he’s a father, a role model," Luis Rodriguez said. 

Police say they are not searching for anyone else in this case, but the shooting is still under investigation.