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TAYLORSVILLE — Two men charged in connection with a shooting at the Fashion Place mall have now been charged with another gang-related shooting that occurred just one week earlier.
The break in the case was due to ballistics testing from the shooting at the mall, according to charging documents.
Jorge Crecencio-Gonzalez, 20, of Salt Lake City, and Jesus Joshua "Cyko" Payan-Mendoza, 19, of Heber City, were each charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony; and six counts of discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony.
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Alexis Giovanny Gallegos was 17 when police say he fired shots that wounded two and frightened a number of shoppers at Fashion Place mall.Both men are documented gang members, according to police.
On Jan. 13, a man and woman were shot just outside an entrance of Fashion Place mall, 6191 S. State.
Detectives determined that seven members of the Florencia 13 gang — including Crecencio-Gonzalez and Mendoza — confronted four members of the Nortenos gang inside the mall. The confrontation culminated just outside the mall entrance when one man was shot three times in the abdomen and legs and a woman was shot once in the leg, according to charging documents.
Shell casings were collected by investigators and tested. According to the new charges filed on Wednesday, ballistic testing showed that the shell casings at the mall were fired from the same gun that was used on Jan. 6 at the Taylorsville Memorial Cemetery, 1635 Gumwood Ave.
On that day, multiple Norteno gang members were gathered around the grave of William Ryan, 17. Ryan was a Norteno gang member, the charges state. On Aug. 19, 2017, Ryan was standing on his driveway near 8100 West and 3400 South when a car with no headlights on drove by and at least three shots were fired, killing Ryan and injuring another man.
Javier Saldana-Ibarra, 19, of Woods Cross, was charged with murder. A trial is scheduled for September.
According to the new charges, Crecencio-Gonzalez and Mendoza drove by the gravesite on Jan. 6 and Mendoza stepped out of the car and fired six shots at the group. Police found multiple shell casings near the grave.
Mendoza later bragged about the shooting at the Taylorsville cemetery because "he believed he killed someone because he shot at them from so close," according to charging documents.
Unified police, however, say there were no reported injuries from that incident. Email: preavy@deseretnews.com Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam
