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SALT LAKE CITY — A jury found one man guilty of aggravated murder in the 2012 shooting death of a Poplar Grove neighborhood smoke shop employee.
After roughly nine hours of deliberation, a jury on Tuesday determined that Yelfris Sosa-Hurtado, 28, is guilty of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and nine counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony, in the death of Steven Guadalupe Chavez, 26.
He was one of two people charged with murder in the case.
Vladimir Suarez-Campos, 40, is charged with murder, a first-degree felony, as well as nine counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony, in connection with Chavez's death. He is accused of driving Sosa-Hurtado to and from CJ's Smoke Shop, 876 W. 800 South, on the day of Chavez's death.
Police say Chavez and Sosa-Hurtado got into an altercation following an incident involving Sosa-Hurtado and Chavez's father. Sosa-Hurtado is accused of leaving the area, only to return with a gun and open fire.
On March 14, 2012, Chavez's father returned to the smoke shop after making deliveries and discovered a car blocking his spot. He said he asked the driver of the car, identified as Sosa-Hurtado, to move, but he refused.
Chavez's father said he would call police and told his son about the incident. Chavez confronted Sosa-Hurtado about disrespecting his father and asked him to move his car. The man refused and punched Chavez in the face, according to court documents. Chavez responded by hitting Sosa-Hurtado in the face twice and told him to leave.
After leaving, a man identified as Sosa-Hurtado returned between 30 and 45 minutes later, entered the store and took a gun out of his jacket and shot a display case. He then placed the gun near Chavez's chest and said he was going to kill him before firing a shot, according to court documents.
One shot hit Chavez in the hand before he dived behind a counter for cover. Sosa-Hurtado then leaned over the counter and shot Chavez twice in the torso, according to prosecutors. Sosa-Hurtado left the shop, allegedly fired nine more shots into the air and, according to various witnesses, got into the passenger side of a vehicle and fled the scene.
Sosa-Hurtado will be sentenced on Dec. 15. A final pretrial for Suarez-Campos has been set for Nov. 10 at 9 a.m.
