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SALT LAKE CITY — A man pleaded guilty Tuesday to shooting two men in the back, killing them after he believed they had given him bad directions.
Christian Sweeten was charged with two counts of capital murder in connection with the 2008 killing of Anthony M. Gaines and Michael T. Ehlert.
"(The victim's mother) never been one to seek the death penalty, but wants to make sure the defendant receives a life sentence and we have." Bob Stott, prosecutor
In front of 3rd District Court Judge Ann Boyden, Sweeten pleaded guilty to two reduced charges of murder, a first-degree felony. In exchange for Sweeten's plea, prosecutors will recommend he be sentenced to two consecutive sentences of 20 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 30.
Boyden told Sweeten that while she felt the proposed sentence was "fair," she is not bound by the agreement. If she chooses an alternate sentence, Sweeten will have the option of withdrawing his plea.
Prosecutor Bob Stott said the agreement was one Ehlert's mother wanted.
"She's never been one to seek the death penalty, but wants to make sure the defendant receives a life sentence and we have," he said.
Ilsa Ehlert said she only wanted justice for the man who killed her 20-year-old son and feels 40 years to life in prison will give Sweeten a chance to "realize what he's done."
Gaines and Ehlert were gunned down on a Salt Lake sidewalk near the corner of 1000 West and 500 North after Sweeten said they gave him bad directions.
Sweeten turned himself in to police a couple of hours after the shootings and told investigators that he was lost that morning and got upset with Gaines and Ehlert for giving him bad directions. At some point during the confrontation, Sweeten told police he felt the two victims were the aggressors and that he felt threatened to the point that his life was in danger.
Sweeten's fiancee later told the media that Gaines and Ehlert were armed and fired first. But prosecutors say Sweeten was not acting in self-defense. Both men were shot twice in the back with a .22-caliber rifle and neither man was armed.
Because Sweeten was accused of killing more than one person at the same time, he faced aggravated murder charges, which potentially made him eligible for the death penalty.
Email:emorgan@ksl.com
