Dumped body unlikely a criminal case

No one will likely be prosecuted in connection with a body dumped at a shopping center in broad daylight on a Sunday earlier this month, authorities said this week.

Huntington Beach police spokesman Dave Bunetta said that while investigators have looked into the death of resident Brandon M. Contreras, 26, prosecutors don’t see a criminal case.

“The District Attorney’s office has reviewed the case, and at this point, there will probably be no criminal charges filed,” Bunetta said.

Contreras was found at 3 p.m. Sept. 7 at a shopping center at Brookhurst Street and Adams Avenue, in front of a Ralphs supermarket and Starbucks coffee shop, according to authorities.

The man apparently died of an overdose, authorities said. But the toxicity test results have yet to come back.

According to witnesses, someone in a pickup truck left the body in the parking lot, then drove off. Police interviewed that person, Bunetta said.

“We did contact and interview that other party,” he said.

“At this point in time, unless there is something additional that comes out of the toxicity test and coroner’s report, a prosecution isn’t likely.”

Bunetta said last week that simply dumping a body after a friend overdosed wouldn’t necessarily lead to criminal charges — it depends on the situation and whether someone fails to seek medical aid for a dying person.

Efforts to reach family members of Contreras were unsuccessful.