Court document reveals alleged Lee Mart shooter

Court document reveals alleged Lee Mart shooter

(KSL-TV/File)


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SALT LAKE CITY — One of the accomplices in an aggravated robbery turned deadly at a Murray convenience store wanted credit for pulling the trigger, according to new information filed Thursday in 3rd District Court.

Martin Castillo, Juan Andres Zalazar and Alexis Alan Garcia each have been charged with first-degree felony murder in the March 18 killing of David Marsh and second-degree felony robbery of the Lee Mart convenience store where Marsh worked as a clerk.

Police have now filed information in court identifying Zalazar, 23, as the man who pulled the trigger. An amended indictment filed against Castillo, 19, claims he falsely told others he was the person who shot Marsh because he wanted to gain access to a local gang.

Garcia, 20, and Zalazar already belong to the gang, according to court documents, and the three men set out to rob a convenience store to initiate Castillo into the same gang.

Zalazar allegedly told police on May 9 that the three men planned for Castillo and Garcia to enter a store with their guns, but that only Castillo's would be loaded so he could "prove himself." Court documents don't say whether this means the three men planned in advance to shoot someone during the alleged premeditated robbery.

The three men allegedly visited various convenience stores for several hours on the morning of the killing before deciding to rob Lee Mart.

"However, after several failed attempts and when they got to Lee Mart, it was Zalazar and Garcia who went into the store," Castillo's new indictment reads.

Zalazar allegedly told police he fired a handgun two or three times at Marsh as he left the store. He said he didn't know the clerk was hit by the shots until seeing reports of it on the news, court documents say.


After several failed attempts and when they got to Lee Mart, it was Zalazar and Garcia who went into the store.

–Indictment


"Later on, Castillo told (Zalazar) that he would take credit for the robbery if anyone came asking," Castillo's amended indictment says.

Instead, police claim Castillo waited outside with another person named Mumblez, who until Thursday's legal filing was not identified in the case. Court records in Utah reveal no previous charges against anyone with that alias.

Police originally identified Zalazar as the shooter, but charges filed against each of the men painted a cloudy picture as to who pulled the trigger. Castillo allegedly told a family member Garcia was the shooter and then changed his story to say he and Garcia fired a shot each. He later told police that Garcia and Zalazar each fired at Marsh.

The identical charges against Castillo, Zalazar and Garcia remained unchanged Thursday, notwithstanding the new details filed in court.

Marsh, 62, threw the empty cash register tray at the men as they fled, at which point one of the men allegedly turned around and shot him. Court documents show Marsh sustained two gunshot wounds. He died five days later.

Two men, whose faces were concealed by bandanas and hats, can be seen on surveillance footage leaving the store. Police have said Garcia was the first through the door frame and that he touched it as he left, leaving his fingerprints.

Charging documents indicate the second man to leave the store, who was hit by the cash register, was the one who shot Marsh.

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Ben Lockhart

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