‘Senseless murder': Father charged in deadly shooting of son granted jail release

A judge has granted the release from jail of a father accused of fatally shooting his 21-year-old son in Kendall back in November.

David Contreras will be allowed to leave jail and will be under house arrest, Judge David H. Young ruled at a hearing Tuesday.

"This was a senseless murder that took place...from all the evidence I've heard this was an execution-type of murder," Young said. "I know the state wants me to keep him in, but I can't get over the fact that this was an isolated incident, it doesn't pose a danger to the community at large, so therefore I’m going to grant release."

Contreras, 52, is facing a second-degree murder charge in the Nov. 3 killing of Eric Contreras at the family's home.

David Contreras' attorney entered a not guilty plea for him back in November at a formal arraignment, but he's been held without bond since his arrest.

Contreras had appeared in court on February 22 for the first part of the hearing as he sought to be released on bond. The hearing had been expected to continue in March but was rescheduled for Tuesday.

Miami-Dade Corrections, Family Photo

On Tuesday, psychologist Dr. Michael Brannon and multiple of David Contreras' close friends were brought up to the stand. All of them spoke highly of him and the fact that they don't believe he would be a harm to himself or to others if given his release.

According to Brannon, in the psychological evaluation, David scored 0 as a risk factor. He didn't turn up anything that raised concerns, as there is an "absence of factors" against him being or acting violently again.

The state attorney asked Brannon if he was given any other proof than the affidavit, to which he replied, "no."

Brannon went on to explain that he did not hear the 911 calls, see the videos, or speak to anyone apart from David Contreras' wife and living son.

Young asked Brannon how it could be possible that a mentally healthy person kills their own son, to which the doctor replied it was "situational factors."

Young went on to mention that the defense had requested that Contreras be given house arrest and that this causes him great concern.

"Another area that has me concerned, the defense has asked, as part of their wish list, that he be given house arrest with his son, daughter-in-law and the mother," said the judge. "The bottom line is that he killed her son...is there anything with that...that I should be concerned for her safety if I put them together?"

"Does she hold anything subconsciously against him—that if there's a fight between them, she is going to go crazy because he killed her son?" asked Young.

"Anytime there's been violence in a family, it increases the risk within that family of violence... In this case, there's no red flag; there are no reports of a history of this behavior," said Brannon. "They are supportive of Mr. Contreras."

Contreras' friends also took the stand. Three of them mentioned that he was a great and loving friend, husband and father, and that they had never seen Contreras as someone violent. 

Ultimately, the judge ordered Contreras must stay in "total lockdown" with a GPS monitor, and said he can't leave his house other than to see a doctor or lawyer.

Young said Contreras won't be allowed to live with family members, saying "that's a recipe for disaster." Any visitation with his wife or surviving son will require a doctor's report that says it's a "good idea," Young said.

Contreras must also continue to go to therapy while he's released, Young said.

"This is a tragedy, an absolute tragedy, to have a beautiful young man of 21 years of age who was murdered by his father," Young said.

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

"What did I do?" Contreras said in the call. "I was fighting with my son...I lost it, he wouldn't stop."

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

The video showed the father complied with police as he cried while being taken into custody.

"I shot my son," Contreras told police while he sobbed. He then directed police to where in the home his son's body could be found.

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

"Is he alive? Is he breathing?" his wife asked.

"No, he's not breathing," Contreras replied. "He's dead."

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

The friends said the family had been in Orlando for a Disney trip but said because of how Eric was acting, he and his dad came back to Kendall, a fight escalated and turned deadly.

According to an arrest report, David Contreras shot his son multiple times "for unknown reasons" then called police and told them he'd shot his son.

When officers arrived to 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's not the first time David Contreras 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 attorney said Eric struggled with his mental health, and that may have been a factor in the incident.

"This is just a very tragic situation. He is distraught," defense attorney Frank Quintero Jr., one of three lawyers representing David Contreras, told NBC6 over the phone after the incident. "The victim is the son of the defendant, and the victim has suffered from some severe emotional and mental conditions, and we're still trying to determine what happened, why it happened."