Brandon Daniel Slack, 42, was shot and killed inside an apartment on the 700 block of Pershing Street in Mount Angel shortly before 6:00 a.m. on January 1, 2024. Investigators say Slack suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest; emergency personnel pronounced him dead after attempts to revive him. The woman he’d been living with — identified as the former wife of the man later named as a suspect — told investigators she woke to find that man standing in the hallway holding a .22-caliber rifle.

Court filings describe a tense history between Slack and the suspect, Agustin Barocio, including an uninvited visit on December 24, 2023, that reportedly turned physical. Surveillance footage allegedly showed a person carrying what resembled a camping chair bag entering the apartment shortly before 5:40 a.m. on January 1. Prosecutors say Barocio shot Slack, then forced the woman into a vehicle and drove with her briefly before returning her to the apartment, where Slack was later found unconscious.

A warrant for Barocio’s arrest was issued and an indictment charging murder and related offenses followed. Investigators recovered a .22-caliber cartridge casing at the scene and a rifle near the suspect’s parents’ home, but testing did not conclusively link that weapon to the casing. Anyone with information about Slack, the December confrontation, or the early-morning events that led to his death is asked to come forward.