In July 2020, Elias Bustamente shot and killed a man during an argument in Smyrna, then shot himself in the head.
A Cobb County jury this week convicted the 24-year-old Marietta man of murder and several other felonies tied to the fatal shooting.
Cobb County District Attorney Flynn D. Broady Jr. announced the verdict against Bustamente in a statement on social media Thursday. Jurors found Bustamente 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.
The shooting happened early the morning of July 5, 2020, at a home in the 4000 block of Hawthorne Circle in Smyrna.
According to court documents, Bustamente shot Michael Arreola three times at point-blank range during an argument. Investigators said Arreola pleaded for Bustemente to drop the Glock 23 .40-caliber handgun. But he shot the victim twice in his chest and once in his upper leg, killing the man.
A woman who was in the home at the time told Smyrna police Bustamente then turned the gun on himself. He shot himself on the right side of the head near his temple, but the suicide attempt was unsuccessful.
Three days after the shooting, Bustamente was medically cleared to leave the hospital and authorities booked him into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center. He has remained there ever since awaiting trial, online jail records show.
Bustamente is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 8.
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