Father charged with murder after 2-year-old son killed by floodwaters in Barstow
BARSTOW, Calif. (KESQ) - A 26-year-old man was arrested and charged with murder after his two-year-old son was killed by floodwaters in Barstow last month.
Brandon Padilla-Aguilera was arrested at his residence on Friday. He was booked into the High Desert Detention Center on murder charges, the Barstow Police Department announced on Tuesday.
He was arraigned Tuesday in Victorville, where he pleaded guilty to all charges, which included murder and child endangerment.
The charges date back to Sept. 18, when Brandon Padilla-Aguilera's two-year-old son, Xavier Padilla-Aguilera, was was found dead after he was swept away by floodwaters. Police said their vehicle was swept off the roadway by floodwaters and the father-son were able to exit the vehicle, but were ultimately separated from each other.
Brandon was located on an island that had been created by the floodwaters. Xavier's body was found the next day in the San Bernardino County Flood Control channel south of the Mojave River.
The Barstow Police Department Detective Division conducted an investigation into the incident due to the severity of the incident. Over the course of the month-long investigation, detectives spoke with witnesses and gathered evidence.
Based on evidence obtained, detectives secured an arrest warrant for Brandon Padilla-Aguilar.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to ontact Detective Bryce Carson at (760) 255-5183 or bcarson@barstowca.org. Those wishing to remain anonymous may also report criminal activity by calling the WE-TIP hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or may leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.
