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WEST JORDAN — Police have arrested a man in connection with a Wednesday shooting near Jordan Landing.
Victor Gabino Perez, 32, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of attempted murder, a restricted person in possession of a firearm, and illegal discharge of a firearm in connection with the shooting.
Perez also is wanted in a Salt Lake kidnapping on May 24 that included a shot being fired, police said. Charges in that case are being screened by the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, police said.
As of Thursday, there was no evidence linking the two incidents, police said.
About 10:50 a.m. Wednesday, Manuel Herrera, 31, was found lying outside an abandoned house near 3900 West and 7800 South, across from Jordan Landing, having been shot multiple times in the torso, said West Jordan Police Sgt. Joe Monson.
A witness told police that she heard four to five shots, according to a Salt Lake County Jail booking report. A neighbor came out of her house when she heard the commotion and witnessed a hand extending from a vehicle, followed by four to five more shots, the report states.
Herrera was still in critical but stable condition Thursday, police said.
Whether the house has ties to the shooting is still being investigated.
Just before 2 p.m. Wednesday, investigators found an abandoned Dodge Magnum the witness had described seeing at 3087 W. 7720 South. Detectives then found a resident who had home surveillance video of the car pulling up, the report states. Two men were seen exiting the car, according to the report.
Investigators then received a tip from a nearby fitness center that a man had entered the business shortly after the shooting and asked to use the phone to get a ride. Information collected from those calls led police to Perez, the report states.
Related:
Man critically injured in West Jordan shooting
A man is in critical but stable condition after he was discovered with multiple gunshot wounds outside a home near the Jordan Landing business area Wednesday morning, police said.Perez was found in a house not far from the shooting scene. Other occupants of the home claimed he wasn't there, but when officers searched the house, they found a locked bathroom door. Perez eventually came out and appeared to have just taken a shower, the report states. The clothes he was allegedly wearing during the incident were found in a washing machine.
Investigators also served a search warrant on the house and found evidence that Perez was "trying to change his appearance," the report states.
Monson said police are piecing together a motive for the shooting and how it transpired.
Police are looking for other possible witnesses in the shooting, and they're asking anyone with information about the case to call 801-840-4000.
Related:
Salt Lake SWAT standoff turns into kidnapping investigation
An investigation into a Wednesday morning shooting turned into an aggravated kidnapping investigation by the afternoon.In the May 24 incident, police say Perez forced Samantha June Medina, 24, into a vehicle at gunpoint and fired at least one round into an apartment at 775 S. Post St. (940 West). The incident prompted a Salt Lake police SWAT team to surround the house and serve a search warrant, though no one was found inside.
The woman was found later that night at a local hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Utah court records show Perez has a lengthy criminal history of mostly theft, burglary and drug-related crimes.
