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SALT LAKE CITY — Three people were ordered Tuesday to stand trial in the death of a Kearns man who police say was shot and killed during a robbery.
Alisha Hope Moore, 29, Richard Trujillo, 27, and Francisco Garcia, 34, were bound over for trial in the death of Gildardo Toledo, 32, following a preliminary hearing. Toledo was killed while he was staying in a Millcreek apartment last May.
Toledo's body was discovered May 29 at 875 W. Meadowbrook Expressway. Neighbors living near the apartment, which belonged to Toldeo's ex-girlfriend, told police the sliding glass door of the home had been open for four days and they had heard gunshots in the early morning of May 25.
All three are charged in 3rd District Court with murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies. Trujillo is also charged with obstructing justice and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, second-degree felonies.
The case of a fourth defendant, 25-year-old Sarah Ortiz, was not included in the preliminary hearing Tuesday, though she previously had been scheduled to appear alongside the other three. Court records do not indicate why Ortiz did not participate in the hearing, and a new hearing has not been set in her case.
Ortiz is charged with murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies, and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.
Moore told investigators that she had been with Toledo in the early morning hours on May 25, including using his cellphone to send text messages to Ortiz up until 3:55 a.m., charging documents state. Moore allegedly told police she left, later returning with Ortiz, Trujillo and Garcia to rob Toledo.
Moore arrived first, charges state. Ortiz came next, opening a back door for Trujillo and Garcia, who came rushing in minutes later, according to police.
Toledo attempted to grab the .45-caliber handgun that Trujillo pointed at him, starting a struggle, the charges state. Garcia threw a bottle at Toledo, and Trujillo fired, striking Toledo once, killing him, according to the charges.
The group fled, reportedly stashing the gun in some bushes and destroying the SIM card from Ortiz's phone that had received the text messages from Toledo's phone, charges state. Police say Trujillo retrieved the gun the next day and sold it.
Moore, Trujillo and Garcia are scheduled to be arraigned April 1.
