BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- It wasn't long before witnesses identified Armando Ortiz Jr. as the suspect in a deadly shooting outside an Arvin market two years ago. They said Ortiz had a strong motive: the victim, Ariel Alexander Angel Peralez, had slept with his girlfriend, and Ortiz couldn't be sure whether she was pregnant with his child or Peralez's, witnesses said according to court documents released Monday. "It was over a girl they were arguing about," a witness and friend of Ortiz told investigators. Following a lengthy investigation, Ortiz was arrested last month and charged with first-degree murder. He's being held without bail and has a preliminary hearing scheduled in February. ‘No excuse at all’: CHP patrol vehicle struck on Calloway Drive as officers were setting up checkpoint Ortiz confronted Peralez in the parking lot of La Raza Market on the night of March 24, 2022, said a witness who spent the day with Ortiz and whose name is redacted from the reports. Peralez admitted to sleeping with Ortiz's girlfriend, the witness said. Gunshots followed soon after. Police arrived and found Peralez, 29, lying in the parking lot with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Surveillance video captured Ortiz and the witness walking through the parking lot in the 1200 block of Durham Street. Peralez is seen walking through the area at the same time. The video did not capture the shooting. The witness was in custody on a separate case when he spoke to police weeks after the shooting, according to the documents. He said he could get them a confession if they cut him a deal; detectives rejected the offer. The witness spoke with them anyway, saying he walked away as Ortiz and Peralez argued in the parking lot, believing they were going to fight. He "heard those shots" as he reached a stop sign at the corner, the witness said. Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage Investigators noted how unusual it was that Ortiz and the witness just happened to come across Peralez at night -- and how the witness's girlfriend also happened to be driving in the area when the shooting occurred. They asked if Peralez had been set up. The witness denied it. "No, sir. I swear to God I never set anybody up," he said according to the documents. The witness's girlfriend also denied being part of a setup. She told detectives she saw Ortiz pointing an object, then saw muzzle flashes and Peralez "scream and fall." No co-defendants are listed in the case. A woman whom Peralez dated for years told police they'd argued that evening and he left her car and started walking while she was in a convenience store, the reports say. She said he often did this when upset with her. She told investigators she drove around looking for him. She learned Peralez had been killed after coming across police putting up crime scene tape. Asked if she could think of anyone who'd want to harm him, the woman immediately named Ortiz, according to the documents. She told detectives about Peralez's relationship with Ortiz's girlfriend.