Glendale man arrested after fatally shooting girlfriend in head at trailer park, police say

PHOENIX — A Glendale man has been arrested after shooting his girlfriend in the head during an argument, officials said.

Raidel Salinas, 43, allegedly shot 36-year-old Bernadette Vera on Saturday.

A friend of Vera’s called police to the scene near 67th Avenue and Butler Drive at around 5 a.m., according to arrest documents.

Officers found Vera inside a bedroom. She was unresponsive, bleeding and leaning against a wall with a towel over the side of her head, police said.

Authorities brought her to Thunderbird Hospital, where medical personnel said she had a gunshot wound to the right eye, arrest documents said.

Vera died Monday morning, according to Glendale police spokesperson Moroni Mendez.

How and when did the Glendale trailer park shooting take place?

Vera’s friend allegedly told police Vera had recently moved in with Salinas. Before the shooting, the friend, Vera and Salinas were drinking together on Friday night, arrest documents said. Vera’s friend said he borrowed Salinas’ car and agreed to return it at around 5 a.m. on Saturday.

However, when he returned to the trailer park, he heard Salinas and Vera arguing, arrest documents said.

He stayed outside while they argued and heard Vera scream before a gun fired, police said.

“Moments later, Raidel ran out of the trailer saying he shot the victim,” arrest documents said. He allegedly then drove away in his silver 2011 MAZDA CX-9.

Vera’s friend told police he saw Raidel with a revolver earlier in the night, a police report said. Detectives on the scene found live .22 caliber ammunition.

Raidel has a history of domestic violence, police said. He has also served time for an armed robbery conviction, which makes him legally forbidden from having guns.

How police found the man accused of shooting his girlfriend in the head

Officers later found the vehicle abandoned in Phoenix with Raidel’s cellphone. His mother allegedly got a hysterical call from him saying he was sorry and would not go back to jail.

Raidel allegedly posted this message to his Facebook account: “Los amo con todo mi corazón perdónenme se los ruego.” That translates to: “I love you with all my heart. Forgive me. I beg you.”

Raidel started calling family members on Sunday, asking for money so he could go to Mexico, police said. Detectives eventually tracked down his phone’s location and arrested him. He had a .22 caliber revolver, which had a spent casing and two live rounds, police said.

“I didn’t mean it,” man accused of shooting girlfriend in head allegedly said

He allegedly asked detectives if Vera was alive, insisting he didn’t mean to shoot her in the head.

He also had several handwritten notes apologizing and saying he wanted to scare Vera but didn’t mean to shoot her, arrest documents said.

One note mentioned that he wanted to escape to Tijuana, Mexico, police said.

He was booked on one count of attempted second-degree murder and one count of misconduct involving weapons, police said.