Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MURRAY — Alexis Giovanny Gallegos was 17 when police say he fired shots that wounded two and frightened a number of shoppers at Fashion Place mall.
Third District Juvenile Judge Kimberly Hornak ordered Monday that Gallegos, who has since turned 18, be tried as an adult in connection with the shooting. He is charged with four counts of discharge of a firearm causing serious injury and possession of a dangerous weapon by restricted person, all first-degree felonies.
Investigators say Gallegos is a restricted person who is prohibited from possessing a weapon due to previous felony conviction.
The incident occurred Jan. 13 when members of two rival gangs, Florencia 13 and Nortenos, exchanged fire outside of Fashion Place mall leaving a man and woman wounded. The man was shot three times in the abdomen and legs, and the woman once in the leg. Both survived and are believed to be members of the Nortenos gang, according to police.
Gallegos is one of six suspected members of the Florencia 13 gang who were charged in connection with the shooting. Another juvenile believed to be involved remains unnamed.
Steven Alexander Perez-Hernandez, 19, of Sandy; Jorge Luis Crecencio-Gonzalez, 19, of Park City; Arian Huerta, 20; Flaviano "Flavio" Aguilar, 20; and Jesus Joshua "Psycho" Payan-Mendoza, 19, of Heber City; are all charged with causing a riot, a third-degree felony.
Charging documents say both Crecencio-Gonzalez and Payan-Mendoza told police they saw Gallegos shoot that day; Payan-Mendoza specified that Gallegos fired directly at the victims. A Norteno member responded by firing several rounds at the Florencia 13 group but no one was hit, the charges state. No bystanders were injured.
Perez-Hernandez faces additional charges of discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, a first-degree felony, as well as two counts of obstruction of justice, one first-degree felony and one second-degree felony.
Huerta told police Perez-Hernandez drove Gallegos and the other juvenile to the mall, according to the charges, and said Perez-Hernandez told Gallegos to shoot and then fled the scene with both of the teenagers.
Related:
3 more men arrested in connection with Fashion Place mall shooting
Three more men were arrested in connection with a shooting that injured two people and created panic at Fashion Place mall.Huerta pleaded guilty to the riot charge on May 28. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 8. Perez-Hernandez has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Aguilar and Crecencio-Gonzalez were also charged with obstructing justice — a first-degree felony for Aguilar and a second-degree felony for Crecencio-Gonzalez. The charges are connected to allegations that Crecencio-Gonzalez drove one of the getaway vehicles and Aguilar supplied Gallegos with money to help him evade police.
Gallegos' juvenile court case history reveals that leading up to the January shooting, he had been referred to the court eight times. He was accused of five felonies and five misdemeanors or infractions.
Prior to the shooting at the mall, Gallegos faced felony allegations of aggravated assault with a weapon, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of a dangerous weapon by restricted person, joyriding and car theft.
Gallegos has been moved to the Salt Lake County Jail. His next hearing is scheduled for June 17.
