ECTOR COUNTY, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The suspect accused in a deadly shooting last December will stand trial as an adult, according to Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis. 

Khaleel Ashton Burford, 17, was arrested in March after a months long investigation into a December 19, 2022, shooting that left 20-year-old Jeremiah Padilla dead. At the time of his arrest, Burford was not publicly identified because of his age. On August 21, Burford was in court for a hearing, where a judge decided he was “capable of standing trial as an adult”. He’s been charged with Murder.

The shooting happened late last year in the 13900 block of Firewater Trail. When deputies arrived at the scene, they found Padilla with a gunshot wound; he was taken to the hospital where he later died. While investigating, deputies learned that a 16-year-old male had also been taken to another hospital by private vehicle and was also suffering from a gunshot wound. At the time, investigators said they believed the two shootings were related. 

Investigators later took custody of the vehicle used to drop the 16-year-old at the hospital and found two different kinds of shell casings inside. Several months later, investigators executed a search warrant at a home in the 1300 block of Whitaker Avenue and Burford was taken into custody at that time and taken to the juvenile detention center.

After the court’s ruling, Burford was booked into the Ector County Law Enforcement Center and was released on a $50,000 bond.