31 felony charges for Millcreek man in violent attacks on wife, friend


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MILLCREEK — Thirty-one felony charges filed Friday against a Millcreek man describe two horrific attempted murders and a kidnapping that included multiple gunshot wounds, sexual assault and a perilous recovery of one of the badly wounded victims by police.

Valentin Dulla Santarromana, 37, hit his estranged wife Jenny Andrus with five gunshots and her friend Jai Hogue was shot 11 times on the morning of Aug. 22, charging documents state. He is charged in 3rd District Court with two counts of attempted aggravated murder, one count each of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault, and 11 other first-degree felonies.

Andrus was visiting her home, 3313 S. Scott Court, while Hogue waited outside for her. Prosecutors say neither Santarromana nor Andrus, who had filed for a protective order against her estranged husband on Aug. 17, were "staying consistently at the residence." Andrus also planned to divorce Santarromana, according to police.

"Approximately one week prior, the victim had separated from her husband and father of her children," said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.

Andrus, 42, intended to care for her dogs at the home and pick up some items. Unified police said she had visited the home two other times that week without encountering Santarromana and didn't expect him to be there.

This time, the woman came face to face with her estranged husband who was armed with a gun and a meat cleaver, police say. Santarromana allegedly swung at Andrus' head with the gun and the flat side of the cleaver, causing her to run to the front door and shout to Hogue to get help. He allegedly followed Andrus to the door and then fired 15 times at Hogue, who had called police.

Hogue was hit in the chest and the same bullet also struck both of her lungs and severed her spine, according to the charges. She was also hit in her stomach, groin, pelvis, left and right shoulders, her right forearm, her left knee and her left calf. A gunshot wound to Hogue's left hand caused two of her fingers to be "nearly amputated," police said.

Hogue, 42, was scheduled to begin teaching preschool two days later at the Open Classroom charter school in Salt Lake City. She is still under medical supervision almost three weeks after the shooting, Gill said.

A woman and two men who saw Hogue lying in the street ran to her aid.

"(The woman) turned towards the residence and observed a male standing on the porch, pointing a gun at her and the male bystanders," the charges state. "The male on the porch told them to leave or 'you're next.'"

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Andrus tried to escape the home, but Santarromana allegedly hit her in the back of the head with his gun. He shot his wife in the ankle as she tried to escape through the front door and forced her into a basement laundry room, where he sexually assaulted her at gunpoint, charging documents state.

"Santarromana tampered with the gas line (in the room) and repeatedly told (Andrus) he was going to kill her. … Santarromana was standing over (Andrus) as she kneeled with her back to him and her hands over her head," according to the charges. After police arrived at the home, "Santarromana shot (Andrus) several times and shot near the gas line two times."

Andrus was shot in the right side of her head and the bullet exited her eye socket, causing her to lose her right eye, according to police. She also suffered a broken bone in her left arm because of a gunshot wound and was shot twice in her left leg and once in her right ankle.

Santarromana is accused of holding Andrus in the home for about three hours before letting her go to police. He surrendered soon afterward. He is also accused of shooting at SWAT officers while they were still outside the home, causing a close call for one officer.

SWAT negotiators were speaking with Santarromana until his phone battery began to run out. Around 11 a.m., SWAT officers approached the side door of the home and "struck it several times with a ram" to deliver another phone

"Officers then heard several bullets hit the door that they were trying to open," Gill said, including one bullet that went through the protective gear of one SWAT officer. "Fortunately he was not injured."

Other officers made their way through the front door shortly afterward and spoke with Santarromana, who was in the basement. After brief negotiations, Andrus came upstairs first, followed shortly afterward by her alleged captor.

SWAT officers reported smelling a strong scent of gasoline inside the home.

Santarromana is being held in the Salt Lake County Jail on $1 million cash-only bail. His additional charges include 11 counts of discharging a firearm causing serious bodily injury, a first degree felony; three counts of assault against a police officer, a second degree felony; four counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; and eight counts of illegal discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony.

An initial court date hasn't been set in the case.

Contributing: Brianna Bodily

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