Man kidnaps and shoots ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, dumps body in desert, AZ cops say
An 18-year-old man is accused of kidnapping and killing his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend then dumping the body in the Arizona desert, police said.
Jerssen Perez was arrested Wednesday in Phoenix and faces multiple charges, including first-degree murder.
Around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Perez was outside of his ex-girlfriend’s house, waiting for her boyfriend to come out, police said in a probable cause statement.
When the boyfriend walked out of the home, Perez held him at gunpoint, forced him into his car and drove away, the statement says. Authorities watched security video footage that showed a struggle between the two.
As Perez was driving, the boyfriend texted his girlfriend that he had been kidnapped.
Perez demanded the phone from him and then shot him multiple times, the statement says. Then he drove the man north to the desert where he dumped the body.
He also hid evidence from the killing in a backpack and tossed the victim’s clothing and shell casings, authorities said.
Around 8 a.m., the victim’s family reported him missing and a potential kidnapping.
Perez confessed to his family of the killing and gave them the gun he shot the victim with, authorities said. His parents also provided police a piece of clothing with red stains.
The man later led police to the victim’s body and the other evidence, according to the probable cause statement.
He told police he had been “thinking about killing the victim for a month,” the statement says.
In addition to a first-degree murder, he also faces charges of first-degree premeditated murder, kidnapping, tampering with physical evidence and abandoning and concealing dead body parts.
Perez’s bail is set at $1 million.
His status conference will be held the Southeast Regional Court Center in Mesa on Oct. 14.
This story was originally published October 8, 2021 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Man kidnaps and shoots ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, dumps body in desert, AZ cops say."
