Charges: Gunman in Layton killing fired 13 times from behind


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LAYTON — When Angel Christopher Abreu ordered Anthony Child to get on the ground, Child ignored him, turned around, and started walking back to his room, according to charging documents.

Abreu, 22, responded by firing 13 rounds from his rifle, striking Child twice in the back, the charges state. Child, who asked his friends to drive him to a hospital out of state rather than one close to their trailer, later died.

The new court documents reveal disturbing details of last week's bizarre shooting in a Layton trailer home.

Abreu, of Ogden, is charged in 2nd District Court with aggravated murder, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary, all first-degree felonies. He is also charged with obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance in the case on Friday.

On Sept. 27, Abreu and a 16-year-old boy were wearing "costume masks," black clothing and gloves when they entered a trailer at 2500 N. Lane at Lakeview Estates, according to Layton police. Abreu was allegedly holding a rifle and the teen allegedly had a handgun.

All of the occupants were ordered at gunpoint to lie down on the floor. That's when Abreu "fired a round into the floor of the residence threatening that the next round would be into one of the people in the home if there was further noncompliance," the charges state.

It was at this time that Child, 26, came out from his room.

"When he was ordered by the individuals with the guns to get on the floor, he refused to comply, instead retreating back into the bedroom that he had just left. As (Child) was retreating, the individual with the rifle opened fire at him, firing 13 rounds, striking (Child) twice in the back," according to the charging documents.

But instead of rushing to a nearby hospital, Child asked his friends to take him to a hospital out of state, according to police. Investigators believe he did that to hide a marijuana distribution and psychedelic mushroom growing operation in the trailer. He was driven to a hospital in Preston, Idaho, where he later died. Layton police didn't find out about the shooting until they were contacted by authorities in Preston.

Before police were called, other occupants of the trailer told police that Abreu forced everyone to clean up the crime scene.

"Prior to officers arriving at the scene, the residence had been cleaned up considerably, including having 13 shell casings removed from the residence and areas of the residence where blood had fallen as a result of the shooting cleaned with hydrogen peroxide in an effort to destroy evidence," the charges state.

The 16-year-old was also arrested for investigation of murder.

After police found 50 gallons of marijuana stored in buckets and other drugs in the trailer, some of the occupants who had been were robbed were also arrested.

Kevin Content, 24, was arrested for investigation of obstruction of justice and possession of a controlled substance. Devon Miller, 22, was arrested for investigation of obstruction of justice, possession of a controlled substance, possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and possession of drug paraphernalia. Douglas Cordova, 30, was arrested for investigation of endangerment of a child and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Last week marked Abreu's third arrest since June for allegedly committing a crime while in possession of a weapon, according to court documents.

On Aug. 25, Abreu was arrested by Ogden police for carrying a gun in his waistband while he was drinking inside a bar, according to a Weber County Jail report. At the time of that arrest, Abreu was already awaiting his case on another gun arrest.

On June 15, he was arrested for investigation of drug possession and possession of a weapon by a restricted person. Abreu also pleaded guilty to drug possession in 2017.

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Pat Reavy is a longtime police and courts reporter. He joined the KSL.com team in 2021, after many years of reporting at the Deseret News and KSL NewsRadio before that.

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