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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who was 17 when he allegedly gunned down a woman in her vehicle has been charged as an adult with murder.
Domingo Rodrigues, now 19, who uses the moniker "Demon," was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony, and six counts of discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony.
On April 3, 2017, about 1:15 a.m., police were called to the Callaway Apartments, 1095 W. Clubhouse Drive (3990 South), on a report of shots fired. Several shell casings were found on the road, as well as a vehicle that had crashed about 75 yards away, according to police.
The driver, Maria Alegandra Ayala, 19, was found dead in the driver's seat, police stated. Investigators believe she was shot while the vehicle was moving and it stopped when it rolled into a parked van at low speed.
Her car "had a bullet hole in the front driver side window and multiple bullet holes in the trunk and windshield," according to charging documents.
Witnesses told police that two groups were leaving a party in separate vehicles when the occupants of Ayala's car "started making gang signs," the charges state.
That's when Rodrigues, who was in another vehicle, "put his hand out of the truck window and (started) shooting," according to court documents.
Rodrigues is currently incarcerated in the Millcreek Youth Center, court records state. A $1 million warrant was issued Wednesday to move him into the Salt Lake County Jail. Rodrigues turned 18 on Sept. 6, 2017, five months after the shooting.
According to court records, earlier this year on March 25, while Rodrigues was housed in the Wasatch Youth Center, he injured a staff member who was trying to break up a fight between him and another juvenile. Rodrigues was charged in that case in 3rd District Court with assault by a prisoner, a third-degree felony.
