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PROVO -- There are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding the man accused of killing Millard County Deputy Josie Fox. A big one: Where did Roberto Roman, a convicted felon, get the gun?
That is a tough question to answer right now. KSL News asked the investigating agency, the Utah County Sheriff's Office, that question Thursday.
Related:
Man charged in deputy's death appears in court
Roberto Miramontes Roman was formally charged with the murder of Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox Thursday afternoon. It's the first step in what will likely be a long criminal case against him after his arrest Wednesday in Beaver County.Roman's history includes multiple felony drug convictions, and he's been deported from the United States multiple times only to return illegally. As for the alleged murder weapon, the Utah County Sheriff's Office isn't saying how Roman got it.
Authorities would not comment on whether other guns have been seized from Roman either. As for the weapons in the photos on Roman's MySpace page, police aren't sure if those photos were taken in Utah or somewhere else, possibly Mexico.
Investigators did, however, offer a little more information about Ruben Chavez Reyes Thursday. He's being arraigned for felony obstruction of justice. Police said he has no significant criminal record, but he has been living in the United States illegally as well.
The story has shocked the Latinos in Utah.
"An immediate outrage went through our community," said Tony Yapias, director of Projecto Latino.
Yapias said as soon as the story hit the news, calls to his office started. People were saddened by the death of Deputy Fox and concerned for what effect it would have.
"It gives us a black eye in the community," Yapias said. "We know that the majority of Latin American immigrants, or immigrants in general, are hardworking people."
Yapias urges people not to stereotype following the murder and said his office was preparing a written plea to the community to help catch Roman just as he was arrested.
"We need to be proactive when something like this happens so criminals don't take refuge in our community," Yapias said.
Yapias also said that when people are deported due to felony charges, his organization encourages them not to come back out of respect for the law and because of the harsh penalties they'll face if caught.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
