'Think about (our) children,' woman begged before estranged husband killed man, police say
A woman's estranged husband shot and killed the man who accompanied her home from a night out early Sunday, according to police.
Brian Bonilla-Benitez, 32, of Chambersburg is in Franklin County Jail, denied bail, court records show. He is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Edwin Perez-Huertas.
Chambersburg police found 27-year-old Perez-Huertas lying on the ground with several gunshot wounds after responding to a report that shots had been fired around 5:40 a.m. Sunday in the 200 block of Lincoln Way West, according to the charging document. EMS treated him at the scene, but he died from his injuries.
A woman at the scene told police she watched her estranged husband, Bonilla-Benitez, shoot Perez-Huertas multiple times.
Previous:Man, 27, victim of Chambersburg's first deadly crime of 2019
It happened soon after she arrived home following a night out. Perez-Huertas, also of Chambersburg, gave her a ride home.
She saw Bonilla-Benitez's car parked at the rear of the home, just west of Conococheague Creek. As she was walking to the back door, he appeared from in between two houses and pointed a gun at her, the document states.
The woman told police Bonilla-Benitez grabbed her arm and forced her to walk with him toward West Burkhart Avenue, where Perez-Huertas was parked.
Bonilla-Benitez pointed the gun at Perez-Huertas and grabbed his arm, the woman told police, per the charging document.
The woman said she stepped in between the two men, and pleaded with Bonilla-Benitez "to think about what he was doing and think about their children," the document states.
While still holding them at gunpoint, Bonilla-Benitez forced the woman and Perez-Huertas to walk toward his vehicle. While looking away for a moment, the woman heard a gunshot. When she looked back, Perez-Huertas was lying on the ground and bleeding from his chest.
Bonilla-Benitez then stood over Perez-Huertas and shot him several more times, the document states. He then left in his own vehicle, a silver Acura.
The above map shows the approximate location of the shooting.
By tracking his cell phone, police were able to determine that Bonilla-Benitez was somewhere in the area of Wayne Avenue and Gabler Road. Officers began checking hotels in the area, and located Bonilla-Benitez's Acura in the parking lot of Motel 6.
Surveillance video showed he had entered room 237 at 6:06 a.m. and hadn't left. Police entered the room and took him into custody without incident.
Police found a Glock 27 40-caliber pistol in the hotel room. Bonilla-Benitez later told officers the firearm was his. He described showing up at the home on Lincoln Way West and standing in between two houses until he saw a vehicle pull up nearby. Police said he admitted to shooting the victim as he stood, then as he was falling to the ground, and finally as he lay on the ground, the document states.
In the initial police report, Chambersburg police said this incident was the first fatal shooting in the borough this year.
Bonilla-Benitez's preliminary hearing is scheduled for 8:15 a.m. Tuesday before Magisterial District Judge Jody Eyer in Franklin County Central Court.
More:'One of the worst black eyes' results in $300K bail for Greencastle man
More:Peters Township man threatens to burn down coworker's home, police say
More:Inmate faces additional charges after sexually assaulting sleeping cellmate, police say