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SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City man took a plea deal Monday in connection with a fatal shooting at a party almost two years ago.
Phillip James Lucero, 24, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, amended to a second-degree felony. Lucero's case was scheduled to go before a jury later this month, but the trial was canceled after he agreed to the reduced charge at a hearing Monday.
On Oct. 28, 2012, Lucero and Valentin Sigala Jr., 20, were at a party in Glendale when an argument ensued "between various persons," charging documents state. Lucero pulled out a semiautomatic pistol and shot Sigala once in the chest, according to police.
Sigala's friends took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Lucero was charged the next day, and police asked for the public's help to locate him. Soon after, however, Lucero walked into the police department and was taken into custody by the officer at the front desk, according to Salt Lake police detective Mike Hamideh.
"His exact reasons for turning himself in, I don't know," Hamideh said.
Lucero will be sentenced Jan. 8 in 3rd District Court.
