John Jefferson
Main: Juan M. Mireles (Saginaw County Sheriff’s Office). Inset, top to bottom: Laura Buendia, Rafael Campos, and Mariano Escareño (Cederberg Funeral Home).
A 51-year-old man in Michigan will be going to jail for killing three of his cousins, one of whom was pregnant, fatally shooting the trio during a summer cookout two years ago.
Juan M. Mireles pleaded no contest on Monday to one count of manslaughter and one count of using a firearm to commit a felony, records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Mireles had initially been charged with three counts each of open murder and felony firearm possession but pleaded to the lesser charges after reaching a deal with the Saginaw County Prosecutor’s Office. The no-contest plea means that Mireles did not admit his guilt but conceded that the state has sufficient evidence to get a conviction at trial.
Laura Buendia, Mariano Escareño, and Rafael J. “Rafa” Campos were all related to each other and Mireles, and all died of multiple gunshot wounds. Buendia was six months pregnant at the time, but doctors were able to save her baby.
According to a report from MLive, Mireles appeared before Saginaw County Circuit Judge Darnell Jackson, who said he planned to sentence the convicted killer within the advisory sentencing guidelines, meaning a term of three to eight years. Since Mireles has been incarcerated since his Oct. 2022 arrest, it is possible he will serve less than a year in prison after he is formally sentenced.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Mireles, at about 2:30 a.m. on June 5, 2023, went to Buendia’s parents’ home in the 300 block of 11th Street.
Buendia’s older sister told investigators that Mireles was their cousin but that he was not among the family members invited to the cookout. However, Mireles’ sister did attend the event.
During the evening, Mireles’ sister and another woman got into an argument stemming from the other woman claiming that Mireles had assaulted her several years earlier. At some point during the dispute, Mireles’ sister called Mireles’ wife and a short while later, Mireles showed up in a minivan.
“Who’s talking s—?” Mireles said as he exited the vehicle with his sister and her husband, MLive reported.
Witness testimony reported differed as to whether Mireles or the people at the party shot first.
At the time Mireles arrived at the residence, Buendia’s sister said that Buendia and the other victims were in the backyard of the home cleaning up. Buendia’s sister had only been inside a short while when she reportedly heard eight loud gunshots.
Mireles’ sister reportedly testified that she was walking behind her brother when they were fired upon. Mireles suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and his sister’s husband was shot in the hand.
Law enforcement and medical personnel responded to the scene where Campos and Mariano Escareño were reportedly pronounced dead. Buendia was rushed to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her wounds and was pronounced dead. However, although she was not due for approximately another three months, doctors were reportedly able to safely deliver Buendia’s baby.
The newborn, named Rosalina L. Buendia, reportedly weighed less than three pounds when she was born and had to remain in the hospital until Sept. 13, when she was discharged to the care of her grandparents. Two years later, the child’s father told MLive that Rosalina is “doing wonderful.”
Before the 2022 shooting, Mireles spent two years behind bars and five years on probation after reportedly pistol-whipping his ex-wife and shooting his brother in November 2010. His probation reportedly ended in August 2016.
Mireles’ sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
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