Man shot at West Valley police to create 'distraction,' charges say

Man shot at West Valley police to create 'distraction,' charges say

(Salt Lake County Jail)


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WEST VALLEY CITY — Another man has been charged in an alleged plot to fire shots at West Valley police officers in what they believe was an effort to draw detectives away from another investigation.

Marco Etsitty, 31, of West Valley City, the alleged gunman, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; five counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.

Ghufran Al-Bander, 21, and Daniel Movahhed, 28, of Sandy, are listed as co-defendants, according to charging documents.

Movahhed was charged in October with possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; five counts of aggravated assault, a third-degree felony; and threatening to use a dangerous weapon in a fight, a class A misdemeanor. Al-Bander and Ruben Rocha, 33, were listed as co-defendants, according to the charges.

On Oct. 21, West Valley police were called to the Sleep Inn, 3440 Decker Lake Dr., to investigate a report that a gun had been pointed at others near the hotel. When officers arrived at the hotel, they were able to identify the room where the alleged gunman was staying but no one answered the door.

About three hours later, as officers were waiting nearby for a search warrant to be signed, multiple shots were fired in their direction from a vehicle on the nearby northbound on-ramp to I-215, according to police. No officers or patrol cars were hit. Officers heard six shots fired, according to charging documents.

When police eventually entered the hotel room, they found Al-Bander, Movahhed, and two others in addition to at least three handguns, according to a police report.

Investigators also seized the group's cellphones. One of the text messages from Al-Bander to Etsitty stated, "We need a distraction," according to the charges, followed by, "Someone needs to go by the furniture store and shoot the gun, so that their attention in drawn."

Etsitty was arrested the next day following an intense search and held on parole violations.

In 2014, Etsitty was convicted of drug possession and sentenced to a year in jail, but the time was ordered to be served at the Utah State Prison, according to court records. That sentence was to run concurrent with another prison sentence he was serving for another drug-related conviction in 2011. In 2006, he was convicted of attempting to assault a corrections officer.

A search warrant later served at Rocha's residence resulted in the seizure of six weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, according to charging documents. Rocha is accused of selling Etsitty the weapon used in the shooting at the hotel.

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Pat Reavy

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