2 Mesa brothers arrested, including 1 accused of murder, after roommate shot

PHOENIX — Two brothers were arrested Thursday after one of their roommates was shot and killed through a bedroom door at their Mesa apartment, authorities said.

Jesus Baez-Franco, 36, was held on a $1 million bond for felony counts of second-degree murder, dangerous drug possession and disorderly conduct/reckless discharge of a weapon, the Mesa Police Department said.

Oscar Baez-Franco, 26, was booked on a count of disorderly conduct/reckless discharge.

Officers responded to a complex near Southern Avenue and Mesa Drive just after 6:30 a.m. after receiving a call about a man with a gun in an apartment.

Three men, including the two suspects, came out through bedroom windows when the officers arrived, police said.

Jesus Baez-Franco said he shot through a closed bedroom door after he thought he heard somebody inside racking a gun slide, according to police.

Oscar Baez-Franco allegedly told officers the gunshots woke him up, and he fired a handgun into the hallway floor after his brother said, “They are coming for us!”

Police located an unidentified man dead in the bathroom. The brothers, who knew him by a nickname, said he’d been staying with them.

Methamphetamine was found in the living room when police served a search warrant, police said. According to court documents, Jesus Baez-Franco told police he was using the drug the morning of the shooting, and it made him paranoid.

The documents said five men had been staying at the apartment, including the victim.

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