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WEST VALLEY CITY — Four people accused in the shooting of a 72-year-old man on the doorstep of his home had planned to rob him because they were upset that he was evicting their friends, police say.
Michael Robert Flores Jr., 38, Leann Martinez Velasquez, 32, and Ricardo Valentino Smith Jr., 36, were each charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; robbery, a second-degree felony; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the alleged triggerman in the incident, Raymond Marquina, 20, had not been charged. He was arrested for investigation of attempted murder.
On Sept. 27, Robert Warren had just returned home from a night at the symphony with his wife when he answered a knock at his door about 10:40 p.m. in the 3900 block of Meadowgate Drive. As he opened the door, he was shot four times in the face and neck.
He has remained hospitalized for more than a month.
The crime shocked Warren's family and his neighborhood because of how random it appeared at first. West Valley police announced four people had been arrested late last week after DNA evidence collected at the scene matched up with one of the suspects in a national database.
Charging documents indicate that the group specifically targeted Warren and planned to "threaten and rob" him because Flores was "upset that Mr. Warren was evicting his friends and family members from a residence they rented from Mr. Warren." Velasquez was the one who allegedly supplied Warren's address to the others.
Warren reportedly owns several rental properties throughout the county.
Flores said Smith drove him to Warren's home where he and "another man," presumably Marquina, approached Warren's door while Smith and Valesquez waited in the car, the charges state. Flores said he was on the side of the house when he heard gunshots and saw the gunman run from the home. The two got into Smith's vehicle and drove away.
Three of the suspects have violent criminal pasts, according to Utah court records. Flores was sentenced to up to five years in prison in 2008 for multiple counts of aggravated assault. Velasquez was convicted of robbery in 2013 and placed on probation. During that incident, she threatened to kill the person she robbed, according to charging documents. An arrest warrant was issued for her Tuesday for a probation violation. She was also convicted of drug distribution in 2013 in a separate case and attempted drug possession in 2006, as well as unlawful attempted use of a financial card in 2004.
Smith was convicted of attempted burglary and car burglary in 2013 and was sentenced to a year in jail. Marquina has a relatively minor criminal history in Utah adult court. He took a plea in abeyance in January to a charge of "disorderly conduct/fighting/violent tumultuous behavior."
Flores and Valesquez live within a block of each other in Magna. The charges list Smith's address as the homeless shelter.
