Marietta man sentenced to life in botched murder-suicide

A Marietta man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after he was convicted of murder in a 2020 incident when he was accused of shooting another man and then turning the gun on himself, prosecutors said.

Elias Bustamente, 24, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson Monday, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office said.

Bustamente was convicted in July of malice murder, two counts of felony murder, aggravated assault and two weapons charges.

The charges stem from a shooting at a home on Hawthorne Circle in Smyrna, near Fox Creek Golf Course, in the early morning hours of July 5, 2020.

Bustamente was accused of pointing a Glock 23 handgun at Michael Arreola during an argument around 3 a.m. Though Arreola “pleaded with (Bustamente) to put down the firearm,” according to a warrant, Bustamente shot him three times — twice in the chest and once in the leg.

Bustamente then pointed the gun at his own head and attempted to kill himself, police said. But he was unsuccessful, shooting himself in the eye.

According to prosecutors, Bustamente was “highly intoxicated” during the incident.

“As parents, our job is to protect our children. Michael was trying to do just that by urging the defendant to stop drunkenly flaunting his gun in fear that it would accidentally discharge,” said Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green, who prosecuted the case, in a news release. “The defendant maliciously murdered him because of it. Michael bled out just steps away from his little girl. The jury’s verdict and this sentence hold the defendant accountable for his actions.”