GLENDALE, AZ — The family of Albert Gonzales and Juan Gomez is still lacking closure nearly six years after the brothers were killed in Glendale.
On August 18, 2019, they were shot and killed while staying with a friend.
Glendale Police said the brothers were shot around 5:30 a.m. while sleeping.
Their family reached out to ABC15 as they push for answers and justice in the case.
“My brothers are missed,” said their sister Desiree Cota. “We miss them every day.”
She’s still hopeful that one day they will get the answers to the questions that haunt her family.
Gonzales was 30 years old, and Gomez was 28 years old back in 2019. Between the pair, they had seven kids.
“They weren’t only my protectors, but they were funny,” said Desiree.
“They were both dads, so I always admired them for being the dads that they were,” said their brother Tony Cota.
They were a part of a close-knit family that is still grappling with what happened.
“It was like the hardest thing to ever go through,” said the brothers’ mom, Teresa Cota. “You know, as a mother, you don’t want something like that to happen to your kids.”
The shooting happened at a friend’s house in Glendale near 63rd Avenue and Maryland. The family vividly remembers the day of the shooting.
“I remember getting a call from my cousin and then not believing what she was saying,” said Tony.
In 2019, ABC15 covered the shooting and a car wash held by the family as they worked to raise money for two funerals.
“We haven’t really learned much details,” said Desiree. “What we were just advised was they were sleeping, and they were killed.”
The family said the focus at the time was honoring their loved ones and laying them to rest. The group said that after was when reality set in.
Years later, the family told ABC15 they still feel “broken”.
“Because we know someone knows something,” said Desiree. “We know someone heard something, someone seen something, and that’s why we’re here today.”
ABC15 sat down with Glendale Police to get an update on the case. We were told their detectives met with the family earlier in 2025.
“There are persons of interest in this case, and the case is still active,” said Officer Moroni Mendez. “So we’re still investigating.”
He said that while there hasn’t been any major leads, detectives do believe someone knows something.
“I know detectives, like I said earlier, do believe that there are people that do have a lot of information for this specific case,” said Officer Mendez. “And they’re looking into re-interviewing people.”
The hope is getting a lead that could catapult the case forward.
Police and family are both urging anyone with information to come forward, even anonymously, through Silent Witness.
“We’re doing everything and anything that we can to just get something, even if it’s just the smallest tip,” said Desiree
The family is hoping this year they can work on a reward for information and continue to push for answers.
“We won’t stop until we get justice,” said Teresa.
