A tip from Utah law enforcement prompted the arrest of a suspect in the May 2024 shooting death of Paul Cordova, 49, near Interstate 25 and South Nevada Avenue, according to testimony in the defendant’s preliminary hearing Monday. Brendan Briggs, 26, is accused of shooting Cordova in the abdome n, leading to his death, on May 1, 2024. Briggs wasn’t arrested until more than a year later. The shooting was reported just south of Dorchester Park, across the street from a Park and Ride. It is unclear what the motive behind the murder was. Still, the Colorado Springs Police Department detectives called to testify during Monday’s preliminary hearing indicated a pre-existing feud between the pair over drugs or a robbery may have been why. According to previous Gazette coverage, on March 20, 2024, California investigators secured a warrant for Briggs’ arrest for the attempted murder of his stepfather and gun charges. He was not arrested until May 12, 2025, and was booked into the California Avenal State Prison upon being taken into custody. Then, in June 2025, Colorado investigators obtained an arrest warrant connected to the El Paso County homicide. Briggs was extradited to the 4th Judicial District in the fall of 2025, court records show. Briggs’ arrest in the Colorado Springs death came after a tip from Utah was received by law enforcement in El Paso County. Initially, Briggs was not a suspect or a person of interest. According to Colorado Springs Police Department detective Stephen Aulino, investigators got a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) hit in July 2024 from West Jordan, Utah. The tip informed detectives that a handgun was recovered the month prior that linked the weapon to the shell casing found on the scene of Cordova’s murder. The gun recovery coincided with a domestic violence arrest, according to Aulino. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives states the NIBIN program started in 1997. A NIBIN lead is an “unconfirmed, potential association between two or more pieces of firearm ballistic evidence and is based on a correlation review of the digital images in the NIBIN database,” according to the agency’s website. Colorado Springs police confirmed the match after Utah law enforcement completed test firings of the weapon, and casings were sent back to El Paso County, then examined next to the one found on the scene. The casings were found to be a match, Aulino testified. The NIBIN hit also linked shell casings found in California, connected to the the alleged attempted murder of his stepfather, Aulino said. Cellphone records also took center stage at Briggs’ hearing Monday, with location data indicating Briggs was near the murder scene at the time the shots were allegedly fired and when the call for service came into police. In addition, Facebook searches pulled from Briggs’ phone indicated Briggs had searched for Cordova on the app prior to the murder, according to Colorado Springs detective Courtney Osborn. During cross-examination, the defense’s line of questioning primarily focused on another lead in the case early in the investigation. According to Aulino, a woman came forward and identified the suspect as another man, but later recanted her statement, saying she was mistaken and the man had an alibi for that night. Judge Chad Miller ruled to bind over, or accept, one count of second-degree murder, setting the case up to go to trial. Court records also show Briggs entered a not-guilty plea in court Monday. This is not the first time Briggs has faced homicide charges. He was arrested in 2022 for attempted murder and gang activity for his connection to a shooting in Merced, Calif., according to reports.   Briggs appeared in custody from El Paso County jail for Monday’s hearing, where he remains on a $50,000 bond. Briggs trial is set to begin April 27, with his next appearance in a 4th Judicial District courtroom set for March 18 to address motions. ...read more read less