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SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake police are asking for the public's help in finding several missing weapons that could be linked to a weekend killing and aggravated robbery.
On Sunday, Jesse Ray Rakes, 30, was found on the sidewalk at 550 W. 300 South with at least one gunshot wound to his hip, according to police. Rakes was taken to a hospital where he later died.
Nearby, a dark-colored vehicle had rolled and come to rest on its hood following an apparent hit-and-run crash related to the shooting.
Detectives believe, based on witness accounts, that 15 to 30 people who were in the area when the crash occurred immediately went over to the wrecked vehicle "and took items of evidentiary value from the vehicle and the victim," including two to three handguns, said Salt Lake police detective Cody Lougy.
All that occurred before police arrived at the scene.
Investigators believe the shooting was the result of a drug deal gone bad near the Rio Grande station.
Daniel Christopher Simon, 25, shot Rakes, according to a Salt Lake County Jail report. However, he was only arrested for investigation of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.
Lougy said the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office will determine if the fatal shooting was self-defense or a murder.
Simon and his girlfriend may have been the victims of an aggravated robbery attempt, according to a police report. Rakes and two other men are accused of robbing Simon at gunpoint.
Michael Sean Polk, 34, and Matthew Gordon Eyre, 35, were arrested for investigation of aggravated robbery.
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1 dead, 4 arrested in Salt Lake drug deal gone bad, police say
One man is dead and four others are in jail after a shooting and car crash Sunday near the Rio Grande station in what police say was a drug deal gone bad.Rakes, Polk and Eyre were in a car together trying to rob Simon and his girlfriend who were in another nearby car, according to a report.
"The victim of the aggravated robbery (Simon) pulled out a firearm and shot and killed a person who was acting in concert with (Polk and Eyre) during the aggravated robbery," the report states.
Polk then tried to flee, but his car collided with Simon’s car, police said. Eyre fled the scene but was apprehended a short time later and admitted being present when the robbery occurred, a report states.
Simon handed the gun to his girlfriend, Natanni Namtha Xoumphonphackdy, police wrote. She then allegedly handed the gun to an acquaintance. Xoumphonphackdy, 25, was booked into jail for investigation of obstruction of justice.
Simon pleaded guilty to third-degree felony aggravated assault in 2010 and was sentenced to six months in jail and 36 months of probation, according to court records. He violated probation in 2011 and was ordered to a one year in jail, records show.
Anyone with information can call police at 801-799-3000.
