Getaway driver in Provo gang robbery, shooting pleads guilty

Getaway driver in Provo gang robbery, shooting pleads guilty

(Utah County Jail)


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PROVO — The alleged getaway driver for three people accused of killing a Provo man in a gang-related robbery and shooting has pleaded guilty.

Jerry Otis Hawley, 34, of Eagle Mountain, pleaded guilty July 12 to burglary and robbery, both reduced from first-degree felonies to second-degree felonies, and attempted negligent homicide, reduced from a third-degree felony to a class A misdemeanor.

Hawley was originally charged with murder in the death of 24-year-old Gustavo Ramirez.

The alleged gunman in the shooting, Jesse William Gourdin, 21, of Orem, is charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony carrying a potential death sentence, and other charges related to the robbery.

Two others accused in Ramirez's death — Brayden Kenneth Marshall, 18, of Provo, and Maria Guadalupe Hernandez, 18, of Sandy — are charged with murder.

As part of a deal with prosecutors, Hawley agreed to testify against the other three individuals in the case. In exchange, prosecutors will recommend at a sentencing hearing Aug. 23 that Hawley be sentenced to concurrent jail terms rather than prison, according to court documents.

According to police, the four went to Ramirez's home, 71 N. 400 West, on March 13 to take a metal box full of cash and recover a backpack that Hernandez had said belonged to her. Charging documents say Hawley drove the group to the house, then waited in the car with Hernandez.

Wearing bandanas over their faces, Gourdin and Marshall tried unsuccessfully to enter the home through the front door before going around back and breaking in at another door, charges state. Once the door was open, Gourdin rushed in shooting, police said.

After the shooting, Hawley drove the group back to Marshall's home, the charges say. Ramirez's girlfriend took him to Utah Valley Hospital, where he was later declared dead.

Several of the charges against the group are enhanced because of gang involvement, court documents indicate.

"The defendants are members and/or are associated with the Bloods street gang, and the victim of the homicide and others inside the home are members and/or are associated with the Florencia Gang, and the defendants' alleged conduct is consistent with gang activity," charging documents state.

A hearing for Gourdin, Marshall and Hernandez is scheduled for Aug. 2.

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McKenzie Romero

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