Prosecutors say the 17-year-old was shot after handing over a chain.
TACOMA, Wash. — New court filings in the killing of 17-year-old Braylon Daniel Diaz describe a short walk home, a red car that doubled back and a robbery that ended with a gunshot after he surrendered his necklace.
The documents have moved the Parkland case beyond early sheriff’s statements and into Pierce County Superior Court, where a woman accused of driving the car has pleaded not guilty to murder. They also identify Brandon Torres-Mesa, 21, as the alleged shooter and say he remained at large after a warrant was issued. Prosecutors say the investigation is continuing because detectives believe others may have been involved.
Diaz and his girlfriend, Katelyn Zuniga, were walking along Sheridan Avenue South on the evening of May 24, heading from Diaz’s father’s home toward Zuniga’s home, according to investigators. The court record says a newer red four-door sedan passed them while traveling north. The car then pulled into a mechanic shop lot near 102nd Street South, turned around and drove south. As it came near the couple again, the car slowed. A person in the rear passenger seat called Diaz closer. Zuniga told police that Diaz refused at first. The passenger then directed the driver to back up, bringing the car closer to the teens.
What followed, prosecutors say, happened quickly. The rear passenger demanded Diaz’s gold necklace. Diaz told Zuniga to stay back and handed over the chain. Charging papers say the passenger took it and shot Diaz in the abdomen without provocation. The vehicle fled south on Sheridan Avenue South, and Zuniga called 911. Deputies were sent to the 10200 block at 7:13 p.m. after reports of a seriously wounded teen in the road. Medical responders performed CPR, but Diaz died at the scene. Investigators later said the necklace was not real, a detail that underscored for detectives and family members how little was taken before a life was lost.
The sheriff’s office soon released video of a suspected vehicle and asked people nearby for surveillance footage. Investigators found the car abandoned in Federal Way on May 27. Court papers say the car contained documents with the names of Alyssa Marie Vaught-Barr and Alejandro Lorenzo Diaz, who is not related to the victim. Detectives also said they found evidence that the vehicle had been used by Vaught-Barr. The discovery gave investigators a physical center for the case. It allowed them to compare video from the shooting area with known images of people tied to the car, check phone records and examine what the suspects did after the shooting.
Prosecutors allege Vaught-Barr drove the car during the robbery and killing. They say Torres-Mesa sat in the rear passenger seat and fired. They also allege Alejandro Lorenzo Diaz was inside the car, though he has not been charged in Braylon Diaz’s death. The filings say cellphone data placed Vaught-Barr and others near the shooting when it happened and later near Federal Way, where the red car was found. Detectives also reviewed video that they believe showed Vaught-Barr and Alejandro Lorenzo Diaz trying to wipe down the vehicle. Investigators said clothing found later matched clothing seen in surveillance footage, and a 9mm handgun was recovered during the broader investigation.
Vaught-Barr called police on May 27 and confirmed she had been driving at the time of the shooting, according to the court record. She told investigators Torres-Mesa was the shooter but said she did not know he planned to shoot Diaz. She also said she tried to get out to provide aid, but Torres-Mesa pulled her back into the car, struck her with the gun and forced her to drive him to Federal Way. Prosecutors told the court they did not accept her account as complete. Deputy prosecuting attorney Lisa Wagner said the information Vaught-Barr gave appeared to protect others and slow detectives. Vaught-Barr’s attorney said she understood the allegations and could not afford bail.
The first arrests came on June 1 after contacts with police in Snohomish County and Tulalip. Authorities said Alejandro Lorenzo Diaz was arrested during a traffic stop on an unrelated felony warrant. Vaught-Barr was detained later that night at a Tulalip Walmart and transferred to Pierce County custody. In a vehicle connected to the arrests, investigators said they found a handwritten note with phrases about spending carefully, saving money for a lawyer and putting an apartment in another person’s name. Charging documents also refer to a written statement that appeared to outline what Vaught-Barr wanted to say to police. Prosecutors used those items to argue that she had tried to shape her story after the shooting.
At Vaught-Barr’s first court appearance, a court commissioner entered a not guilty plea on her behalf and set bail at $1 million. The court also barred her from contact with Torres-Mesa if she were released. Alejandro Lorenzo Diaz appeared separately on the fugitive matter tied to an Oregon warrant. Oregon authorities accused him of first-degree criminal mischief, first-degree burglary and first-degree aggravated theft. His bail was set at $250,000. Prosecutors said they were still waiting on more evidence before deciding whether to file charges against him in the homicide. Court records also noted earlier felony convictions for him, including cases involving a drive-by shooting, assault, firearm possession and escape from work release.
Torres-Mesa remained outside custody after the early court hearings, according to sheriff’s officials. Prosecutors charged him with aggravated first-degree murder, first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. Detectives described him as the person who demanded the chain and fired after Diaz handed it over. The sheriff’s office said he was believed to be armed. Officials have not publicly resolved several questions, including whether the recovered gun is the homicide weapon, who else may have been in the car and whether additional charges will be filed against others. Cappetto, the sheriff’s spokesperson, said investigators would not stop looking for people tied to the case.
The legal record has developed alongside a public portrait of Diaz from the people who loved him. Zuniga said he protected her during his final seconds. Chelsea Diaz, his stepmother, said he would not have walked toward the car to confront strangers. Family members said he was a Washington High School junior and a member of the football and soccer teams. Friends and classmates gathered after the shooting to remember him as respectful, kind and well liked. His father, Brock Diaz, visited the growing memorial on Sheridan Avenue South and said the loss was something no parent should face. The memorial became a marker for both grief and the still-open case.
Currently, Vaught-Barr remains jailed while her murder case proceeds in Pierce County Superior Court. Alejandro Lorenzo Diaz faces the fugitive case as prosecutors review his possible role. Torres-Mesa remains wanted, and detectives continue working through video, phone data, vehicle evidence and witness accounts.
Author note: Last updated July 6, 2026.