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The man accused of gunning down two men for giving him bad directions has been charged with murder.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office has filled two aggravated murder charges against Christian Charles Sweeten for shooting and killing 42-year-old Anthony Gaines and 20-year-old Michael Ehlert with a .22-caliber rifle.
Booking documents say early Monday morning Sweeten asked the two men for directions, but when those directions landed him in the same area of 500 North and 1000 West, Sweeten admitted to officers that he confronted the two men. Sweeten, who is from Murray, said he fired his gun in self defense.
However, investigators found nine .22-caliber casings and determined Gaines and Ehlert were both shot in the back twice.
That evidence prompted the district attorney's office to dismiss Sweeten's self-defense claim and file the murder charges.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller said, "You shoot two people twice in the back with a rifle when they aren't armed, it is our belief that that doesn't constitute self-defense."
Investigators also found no evidence of drugs, gang activity or any relationship between Sweeten and the two victims.
Sweeten's fiancée was questioned by police and then released Monday. She gave KSL a note that said the victims also fired shots. However, police have said neither Gaines nor Ehlert was armed.
Sweeten's fiancée and family members told KSL he would never maliciously shoot someone and believe he acted in self-defense.
According to his family, Sweeten called his parents from jail and told them he was at a party earlier that night and just finished dropping off a friend in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Charles Sweeten said, "He was lost in the wrong place and found himself in a situation where he felt his life was threatened."
The district attorney could seek the death penalty.
E-mail: ngonzales@ksl.com
E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com
