A Maricopa County jury convicted Adrian Aguilar after prosecutors described a prolonged shooting inside a car.
PHOENIX, Ariz. — A Maricopa County judge sentenced Adrian Aguilar to life in prison plus 26 years after a jury convicted him in the 2023 murder of his girlfriend, 19-year-old Amira Crofton, prosecutors said.
The sentence closed a prosecution that moved from a Tempe roadside crime scene to a February trial and an April prison term. Aguilar, 23, was found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and two counts of aggravated assault. Prosecutors said the killing happened after Aguilar saw a text message from another man on Crofton’s phone and accused her of cheating, an accusation she denied again and again.
The legal result was the lead outcome in a case marked by a long drive, repeated gunfire and a false report to officers. Aguilar received a life sentence for the murder count. Local reports citing court documents said he also received 16 years for kidnapping and 10 years for each aggravated assault count, with the assault terms running at the same time. The added prison time totaled 26 years. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said prosecutors Shaylee Beasley and Katie Staab secured the convictions.
County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said the verdict and sentence reflected both the brutality of the attack and the betrayal at the center of the case. “This young woman placed her trust in the defendant, and he repaid that trust with brutal violence,” Mitchell said after the sentencing. She said Aguilar’s acts were “callous, calculated, and rooted in jealousy.” Her office announced the sentence April 14, more than two years after the killing and about two months after jurors returned guilty verdicts.
The murder charge was based on the prosecution’s account that Aguilar intentionally killed Crofton during the drive. The kidnapping charge added another layer: prosecutors said Crofton was kept in the car while Aguilar continued moving through Tempe and firing at her. The aggravated assault convictions reflected the repeated shooting and violence before her death. Together, the charges showed jurors accepted the state’s view that the killing was not a sudden single act, but a drawn-out attack across multiple locations.
According to prosecutors, the encounter began in June 2023 when Aguilar and Crofton were in a vehicle together around Tempe. Court records described in local reporting said they had left work around 1 p.m. and later attended a pool party. Aguilar had used alcohol and cocaine before leaving, according to those records. As he drove, he saw messages on Crofton’s phone from a male friend. Authorities said he demanded that she admit to cheating and threatened to shoot her if she did not tell him what he called the truth.
Crofton denied the accusation. Prosecutors said Aguilar kept questioning her for about 45 minutes while driving through Tempe and firing at her in different areas. The first known shooting location identified in public accounts was near South Rural Road and East Broadway Road. Another shot was described near Broadway and Roosevelt Street. The violence continued as Crofton cried and asked to be taken home, according to prosecutors. By the time the attack ended, she had 11 gunshot wounds to her head, neck and torso.
The case reached police after a witness reported seeing Aguilar near Broadway Road and 48th Street. Prosecutors said the witness saw him outside his car firing multiple shots into the passenger seat before walking away. Officers responded and found Crofton not moving. They also found Aguilar near the scene with a gunshot wound to his shoulder. At first, prosecutors said, he tried to shift blame to gang members and claimed his car had been shot up by others.
Investigators did not accept that account. Police found inconsistencies after reviewing the scene and speaking with witnesses. Prosecutors said Aguilar later confessed to shooting Crofton because he thought she had disrespected him. He also admitted shooting himself in the shoulder. Those admissions, paired with the witness account and physical evidence, became central to the state’s case. Authorities said Aguilar told police Crofton had been scared and crying as he shot her and that she had asked him to take her home.
The public record released after sentencing did not include a full trial transcript or every piece of evidence jurors heard. It did include the core findings: the jury convicted Aguilar on all four counts in February, and the court later imposed a life term plus 26 years. Officials did not report any acquittals or dismissed charges in the public sentencing notice. No appeal details were included in the county announcement, though criminal defendants commonly retain the right to challenge convictions through the appellate process.
The case drew attention in the Phoenix area because of Crofton’s age, the length of the attack and the way prosecutors described jealousy as the motive. It also focused attention on violence inside an intimate relationship that had lasted only months. Authorities said Crofton and Aguilar had been together about three months before the killing. Prosecutors emphasized that the text messages did not justify or explain away the violence; they were the trigger for Aguilar’s accusations, threats and fatal choices.
With the sentence imposed, Aguilar’s case moved from trial court judgment to prison custody. The next formal milestones, if any, would come through post-conviction filings or appeals. As of the sentencing announcement, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said Aguilar had been held accountable and would spend his life in prison.
Author note: Last updated May 6, 2026.