PHOENIX (AZFamily) — An aspiring gang member will spend decades behind bars for killing two people last year.
On Wednesday, Maricopa attorney Rachel Mitchell announced that 27-year-old Timothy Moses Bernal had been sentenced to 48.75 years in prison for the 2023 shooting deaths of Chad Munoz and Austen Mole.
“Ridding our streets of gang activity is what our Gang Bureau prosecutors strive for every day here at MCAO,” said Mitchell. “When we jail those who kill without regard for human life, we are doing what I promised: keeping every community safe.”
Bernal pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and violating probation.
Timothy Moses Bernal, 27, was sentenced to 48.75 years in prison for the shooting that left two men dead in 2023.(Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
Mitchell said Bernal shot and killed Munoz, a former Mexican Mafia member with a “bad reputation,” in May 2023 to join the gang. He then told others to throw away the body.
During the investigation, authorities discovered that Bernal was involved in a 2023 shooting in which he shot and killed Mole after a dispute over an arms deal. Mole’s body was found at the bottom of a canal.
Mitchell says Bernal committed both murders while on probation for aggravated assault in 2015.
A booking photo for Bernal was not immediately available.
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