Prosecutors said Adrian Aguilar later admitted shooting himself and killing 19-year-old Amira Crofton.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — Adrian Aguilar first told police that gang members shot up his car, but investigators soon found evidence that led to his conviction for murdering his girlfriend in Tempe, prosecutors said.
The false account became a key part of the case that ended with Aguilar, 23, sentenced to life in prison plus 26 years. Prosecutors said officers arrived near Broadway Road and 48th Street in June 2023 after a witness saw Aguilar firing into the passenger side of his car. Aguilar was found nearby with a gunshot wound to his shoulder. The person in the passenger seat was 19-year-old Amira Crofton, who had been shot 11 times.
Police did not treat Aguilar’s gang claim as the final word. Prosecutors said officers found inconsistencies between what he said, what the witness reported and what the physical evidence showed. After further interviews, Aguilar confessed to shooting Crofton because he thought she disrespected him, according to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. He also admitted shooting himself in the shoulder. Those admissions shifted the case away from his first claim and toward charges of murder, kidnapping and aggravated assault.
The investigation showed that the final scene was only the endpoint. Authorities said Aguilar had driven around Tempe with Crofton for about 45 minutes while accusing her of cheating and repeatedly shooting her. The confrontation began after he saw a text message from another man on her phone. He demanded that she admit to a relationship with someone else. Crofton denied it each time. Prosecutors said Aguilar threatened to shoot her if she did not say what he wanted to hear, then carried out the threat.
Public accounts of the case described a route through Tempe marked by repeated violence. One early shooting occurred near South Rural Road and East Broadway Road. Another followed about a mile away near Broadway and Roosevelt Street. Aguilar kept driving as Crofton cried, asked him to stop and asked to be taken home, prosecutors said. At one point near the end of the drive, Crofton tried to grab the gun, the weapon discharged and the car crashed into a curb, according to court records described in local reporting.
The injuries also challenged the idea of an outside attack. Crofton had 11 gunshot wounds to her head, neck and torso, along with injuries to her face, head and hands, prosecutors said. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said Aguilar told police she had been scared and crying while he shot her. The pattern of wounds, the witness report and Aguilar’s later statements gave prosecutors a case that described a sustained attack by someone inside the relationship, not a random shooting by strangers.
The relationship had been brief. Court records described in reporting said Aguilar and Crofton had been together about three months. On the day of the killing, they left work together around 1 p.m. and later went to a pool party. Aguilar used alcohol and cocaine before leaving, according to those records. He was supposed to take Crofton home. Instead, prosecutors said, the text messages from a male friend led him to question her, accuse her and drive through the city while the attack continued.
A jury heard enough evidence to convict Aguilar in February of first-degree murder, kidnapping and two counts of aggravated assault. The first-degree murder count carried the life sentence. The kidnapping count covered the allegation that Crofton was held in the car against her will as Aguilar drove and fired. The aggravated assault counts reflected additional violent acts tied to the shooting. The jury’s verdict showed it accepted the prosecution’s account of a prolonged, intentional attack.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced the sentence April 14 and credited prosecutors Shaylee Beasley and Katie Staab for the case. “This young woman placed her trust in the defendant, and he repaid that trust with brutal violence,” Mitchell said. She said Aguilar’s actions were driven by jealousy. The County Attorney’s Office said the sentence means Aguilar will spend his life in prison. Local reports said court records showed he began serving the sentence in early April.
The added 26 years came from the nonmurder counts. Local reports citing court documents said Aguilar received 16 years for kidnapping and 10 years for each aggravated assault count, with the assault terms running concurrently. The total additional time left 26 years on top of the life sentence. Prosecutors did not announce any unresolved charges in the public sentencing notice. The case could still appear in court records if Aguilar files an appeal or post-conviction challenge.
The public record leaves some details unclear. Officials did not release every investigative step, every trial exhibit or a full timeline of each location where shots were fired. The witness who called police was not named in public accounts. Local reports also differed on the spelling of Crofton’s first name, with some using Amria and others using Amira. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office used Amira in its sentencing announcement.
For investigators, the case turned on the gap between Aguilar’s first account and the evidence gathered at the scene. For prosecutors, it ended with a jury’s guilty verdicts and a life sentence plus 26 years. Aguilar remains imprisoned for Crofton’s death.
Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.