Records: Man shot Cedar Rapids victim at least 8 times

CEDAR RAPIDS — A man accused of arrested this week for murder shot his victim at least eight times in front of a witness and admitted to the crime, court records released Thursday show.

Brannon Johnson, 21, during an initial appearance Thursday, was charged with first-degree murder and a judge set his bail at $500,000 cash only. He remains in the Linn County Jail.

Cedar Rapids police were called at 4:45 a.m. Wednesday to an apartment at 2106 Buckingham Dr. NW, where they found Jorge Maldonado-Vasquez, 27, with gunshot wounds. Maldonado-Vasquez was taken to a hospital and declared dead.

According to a criminal complaint, a witness saw Johnson shoot Maldonado-Vasquez with a handgun, which police say they found at the scene. Maldonado-Vasquez, the roommate of the witness, had told Johnson to leave the apartment but an argument broke out. Johnson said he had a gun and then shot Maldonado-Vasquez, the witness told investigators, according to the complaint.

“The defendant admitted to being the shooter on a 911 call,” the complaint shows.