A Marietta man convicted of turning a gun on himself after he shot someone to death during a Fourth of July party in 2020 was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson handed down the sentence during a hearing Monday, Cobb District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. announced in a news release late Tuesday.
The judge’s ruling stems from a fatal encounter in a Smyrna home in the 4000 block of Hawthorne Circle early the morning of July 5, 2020.
Elias Bustamente shot Michael Arreola three times at point-blank range during an argument at a holiday gathering, prosecutors said during trial. He then shot himself in the head in an attempt to kill himself.
A jury on July 27 found Bustamente, 24, guilty of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a first offender probationer.
“Michael bled out just steps away from his little girl. The jury’s verdict and this sentence hold the defendant accountable for his actions,” Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green said in Tuesday’s news release.
Broady detailed the bloody circumstances of the shooting in the release. Arreola protested when a highly intoxicated Bustamente began showing off his pistol — a Glock 23 .40-caliber handgun.
According to Broady, Arreola told Bustamente to put the gun away because the victim’s infant daughter and several other children were sleeping in an adjacent room. Bustamente took objection with Arreola’s demands and pointed the gun at him.
Court documents show Arreola pleaded for Bustamente to drop the weapon, but he shot the victim twice in his chest and once in his upper leg. He then shot himself on the right side of the head near his temple.
Three days after the shooting, Bustamente was medically cleared to leave the hospital and authorities booked him into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center.
Several people who witnessed the shooting testified during Bustamente’s trial last month, according to prosecutors.
“As parents, our job is to protect our children,” Green said. “Michael was trying to do just that by urging the defendant to stop drunkenly flaunting his gun in fear that it would accidentally discharge. The defendant maliciously murdered him because of it.”
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