Father arrested after shooting son at Kendall home to appear in court – NBC 6 South Florida

David Contreras, the father accused of fatally shooting his 21-year-old son in November in Kendall, appeared before a judge Tuesday morning for a continuation of February's Arthur hearing.

Contreras, 52, is charged with second-degree murder in the Nov. 3 killing of Eric Contreras at the family home.

David Contreras' attorney pleaded not guilty at a formal arraignment on his behalf in November, but he has been held without bail since his arrest.

Contreras appeared in court for a hearing on Feb. 22 to request his release on bail.

The hearing was expected to continue in March but was postponed until April 30.

On Tuesday, psychologist Dr. Michael Brannon and several of David's close friends were brought to the witness stand. They all praised him and the fact that they don't believe he would harm himself or others if given bail.

According to Dr. Brannon, David was rated 0 in the psychological assessment as a risk factor. He has not brought to light anything of concern as “there is no evidence” that he will become or act violently again.

The prosecutor asked Brannon if he had been presented with any evidence other than the affidavit, to which he replied, “No.”

Brannon further stated that he did not hear the 911 calls, see the videos or speak to anyone other than David's wife and living son.

Judge Young asked Dr. Brannon asked how it could be possible for a mentally healthy person to kill his own son, to which the doctor replied that these were situational factors.

Judge Young further mentioned that the defense had requested that Contreras be placed under house arrest and that this was of great concern to him.

“Another point that concerns me is that the defense has, on its wish list, requested that he be placed under house arrest along with his son, daughter-in-law and mother,” the judge said. “…the bottom line is that he killed her son…Is there anything…that should make me worry about her safety when I add them up?”

“Is she subconsciously accusing him of something – that if there is a fight between them she will go crazy because he killed her son?” Judge Young asked.

“Any time there has been violence in a family, the risk of violence within that family increases… In this case there are no warning signs; there are no reports of a history of this behavior,” said Dr. Brannon. “You support Mr. Contreras.”

Friends of Contrera also commented. Three of them mentioned that he was a great and loving friend, husband and father and that they had never seen Contreras as someone who was violent.

“This was a senseless murder,” Judge Young said. “From all the evidence I heard, it was an execution-style killing.”

“I know the state wants to detain him, but I have concluded that this was an isolated incident that does not pose a threat to the community at large… I will grant his release,” Judge Young said.

Contreras is expected to remain in total lockdown and continue therapy. According to the judge's orders, he will not go away with his family, and if he and his wife or son want to see each other, they must undergo therapy and a doctor must prove that this is a “good idea,” the judge said .

During the February hearing, Contreras was seen crying and breaking down while listening to the 911 call he made after shooting his son in the head.

“What have I done?” Contreras said in the call. “I was arguing with my son… I lost my temper, he wouldn't stop.”

Bodycam footage obtained by NBC6 shows the moments after police arrived at the apartment and officers with guns drawn asked Contreras to come out with his hands up.

The video shows the father obeying police while crying while being taken into custody.

“I shot my son,” Contreras told police as he sobbed. He then instructed the police where in the house his son's body could be found.

Before police arrived, Contreras was captured on doorbell video explaining the incident to his wife.

“He lives? Is he breathing?” asked his wife.

“No, he’s not breathing,” Contreras replied. “He is dead.”

Eric Contreras was described by his friends as a funny and loving student who often had arguments with his parents.

The friends said the family was in Orlando for a Disney trip, but said Eric and his father came back to Kendall because of his behavior and an argument escalated and turned deadly.

According to an arrest report, David Contreras shot his son several times “for unknown reasons,” then called police and told them he had shot his son.

When officers arrived at the scene near 10703 Southwest 84th Avenue, they found Eric Contreras suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said it wasn't the first time David Contreras had threatened to shoot his son. Last May, police said he shot at the ceiling and on Halloween, just days before the fatal shooting, he pointed a gun at his son.

The father's lawyer said Eric was struggling with his mental health and that could have been a reason for the incident.

“This is just a very tragic situation. He's desperate,” defense attorney Frank Quintero Jr., one of three attorneys representing David Contreras, told NBC6 by phone after the incident. “The victim is the son of the defendant and the victim has suffered from severe emotional and mental illness and we are still trying to figure out what happened and why it happened.”