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SALT LAKE CITY — A 17-year-old boy charged as an adult with murder has been moved from juvenile detention to the Salt Lake County Jail.
A judge agreed with a motion filed by prosecutors to transfer David Ivan Diaz, accused in the gang-related shooting and killing of one man and injuring two others, to jail. Diaz was transferred Monday.
Diaz and his brother, Martin Daniel Diaz, 25, of South Salt Lake, are each charged in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; four counts of discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony; and three counts of discharge of a firearm with injury, a second-degree felony.
On Christmas Eve last year, Gary Hart, 34, was shot and killed in the parking lot of Shopko, 4850 W. 3500 South. Another man, Ernest Jones, was shot six times and severely injured. A third man, Dwight Malloy, was grazed on his back by a bullet, charges state.
According to the motion to transfer David Diaz to jail, prosecutors say younger gang members had called him to the Shopko that day "because of (his) high status in the gang" to help in the fight that led to Hart's death.
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17-year-old among 2 charged with murder in Christmas Eve shooting
A 17-year-old Kearns boy is one of two people charged Friday with murder in the shooting death of a man on Christmas Eve in a store parking lot.Prosecutors noted in their motion that David Diaz will turn 18 on April 2, and his presence in juvenile detention "poses a safety risk" to other youths.
Furthermore, "there are several young members of the Norteño gang that are between the ages 13 and 15 years currently housed at detention. The state is concerned that (David Diaz), as a high-ranking member of the Norteño gang, has the ability to interact and influence younger Norteño members in detention," the motion states.
"In the past six months, (West Valley police have) arrested several Norteño gang members for crimes such as murder, aggravated robbery and discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury," according to the motion.
David Diaz "has a juvenile delinquency history that includes an assault allegation involving a firearm that (he) participated in with other members of the Norteño gang," the motion also states.
