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SALT LAKE CITY — A 16-year-old boy accused of trying to kill a rival gang member while in a youth facility has been certified to stand trial as an adult.
Isai Flores Garcia was booked Monday into the Salt Lake County Jail. He was charged in juvenile court in July with attempted murder, a first-degree felony, because he committed the act knowingly and intentionally in an effort to kill someone else, according to court records.
On June 14, an inmate at the Wasatch Youth Center, 3534 S. 700 West, was watching a movie when someone grabbed him from behind and put a sharp object to his throat. He turned to see Garcia holding a shank to his face, according to court records.
Two employees subdued Garcia after hearing the victim call for help, one of them saying he felt the makeshift knife cut into his arm. While being questioned, investigators say Garcia told them that the boy he attacked was a rival gang member.
"He stated that he had been thinking about killing (the boy) for some time," court records state. "Flores stated that he had been thinking about killing someone for weeks and chose to target (the victim) because he was the 'enemy.'"
On the day the attack occurred, a parole hearing had been held for Garcia and he was sent back to detention for an additional six months of incarceration, according to court documents. He later told police he, "hated the institution and wanted to leave."
Garcia allegedly made a knife by taking apart a paper towel dispenser in the bathroom.
Email:preavy@ksl.com
