A hearing for a man allegedly shot his friend to death, dumped the body in Sand Canyon and then confessed to customs officials at the border in February, is expected to start Wednesday.

David Aldana, 21, of Canyon Country, walked into the U.S. Port of Entry Customs Border Protection Office in San Ysidro in February and claimed that he had killed Maximiliano Bernal, 22, of Newhall, in the Canyon Country area, said Lt. Eddie Hernandez of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau.

“Homicide detectives were dispatched to the office where (Aldana) was detained so they could interview the suspect,” said Hernandez. “During the interview, he agreed to show to detectives where he discarded the victim’s remains.”

Investigators found Bernal’s body near a gravel and dirt turnout on Sand Canyon Road at Mile Marker 7.98 on Thursday morning, Hernandez said.

Both men were from Canyon Country, Hernandez said, and previously described them as longtime friends.
The motive for the shooting has not yet been disclosed publicly, but it’s expected to be discussed at Wednesday’s preliminary hearing, officials said.

“The suspect talked to us to the extent that he told us what he had done, that he had killed his friend,” Hernandez said. “We didn’t get much more from him after that.”

Investigators were able to determine more about the history between the suspect and victim that’s expected to be brought up at tomorrow’s hearing.

Aldana, 21, faces one count of willful, deliberate, and premeditated murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

The felony complaint includes the allegation that the murder was committed with a handgun.

At a preliminary hearing, the evidence against a suspect is presented, and a judge decides whether there is enough to hold the suspect to answer to the charges at trial.

If convicted as charged, he faces 50 years to life in state prison. Aldana is being held in lieu of $3 million.