Del Mar

A 25-year-old man pleaded innocent Wednesday to killing his brother at a construction site.

Joel Ayala of Vista was ordered held in County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail by Municipal Judge Nicholas Kasimatis at the request of Deputy Dist. Atty. Luis Aragon.

Ayala’s brother, Rene, 27, was shot five times Friday at a construction site off Del Mar Heights Road, where both men were working as roofers.

Aragon said Ayala had an ongoing dispute with his brother, but “We’re unaware of the subject matter of the dispute.”

After shooting Rene Ayala three times, Joel Ayala checked his brother’s pulse and then stood over him and shot him twice more, Aragon said in court.

The prosecutor said Joel Ayala had a smile on his face after the shooting.

“He may have emotional problems,” Aragon said. “He’s extremely dangerous . . . Mr. Ayala killed his brother in a very cold and callous manner.”

Joel Ayala allegedly stabbed another brother several days before the shooting, but the family declined to press charges, Aragon said, adding that Ayala surrendered to authorities over the weekend after two brothers talked to him in Tijuana.

The judge ordered a bail review for Monday and a preliminary hearing Sept. 23.