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SALT LAKE CITY — The case of a now-18-year-old man charged with shooting and killing another teenager in a gang fight near Kearns High School moved one step closer to trial Friday.
A preliminary hearing was set in the case of Ricky Angilau for March 8. Angilau was 16 when he was charged with murder, a first-degree felony, obstruction of justice, carrying a concealed dangerous weapon, both second-degree felonies, and possession of a firearm on school property, a class A misdemeanor.
Friday's hearing was Angilau's first court appearance in over a year. The case was being held pending the result of an appeal to the Utah Supreme Court. Utah prosecutors have long been able to file charges such as murder against a 16- or 17-year-old that place the youths directly into district court, where they are legally regarded as adults.
When a teen younger than 16 commits a violent crime such as murder, prosecutors can petition juvenile court to try the defendant as an adult. A juvenile court judge then holds hearings and ultimately decides if the teen should be tried as a juvenile or certified to stand trial in adult court.
Angilau's attorneys argued that the "direct file" system was unconstitutional. They also challenged the housing of the teenager in an adult jail.
The Utah Supreme Court upheld the law in January.
Angilau is accused of shooting and killing Esteban Manuel Saidi on Jan. 21, 2009. Saidi was a bystander in a fight between Angilau and another juvenile, which was seen as the culmination of ongoing gang tensions throughout the Salt Lake Valley.
On that January day, Angilau and another juvenile with whom he had a ongoing conflict agreed to meet about two blocks away from Kearns High School to fight. Angilau had apparently shown a friend a gun, which he had been carrying throughout the day.
When he and the other boy met on a residential street near 5500 South and 4800 West, Angilau had one friend with him and the other teen had several, including Saidi.
Angilau and the other teen began fistfighting, but at some point during the fight, Angilau "began to tire," according to court documents. That's when he pulled out his gun and fired once into the air. He then fired a second time, "while pointing the gun straight ahead in the direction of a group of individuals," court documents stated.
The second shot struck Saidi in the torso. His friends helped him back to Kearns High School where 911 was called. Saidi died a short time later at a local hospital.
E-mail: emorgan@desnews.com
