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WEST VALLEY CITY — West Valley police are looking for a person of interest in connection with the shooting death of an 82-year-old man.
About 7:10 a.m. Monday, two gunshots were heard by neighbors in the area of 3800 South and 4200 West. Emergency crews arrived to find Farrell Bartschi lying on the ground in front of a house, said West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Tuesday, police announced they were looking for Noel Munoz Lopez, 34, of Kearns, for questioning, calling him a person of interest in the case.
Police believe Lopez was in the area at the time of the shooting and has "an association" with the owners of the home that Bartsschi was found in front of.
"It is unknown at this time what occurred leading up to the shooting. We can, however, report that the victim in this case has no known association with the people who live inside the home, nor any association with Mr. Lopez," police said in a prepared statement.
Bartschi lived near where the shooting occured.
Lopez is 5-foot-5, 210 pounds, and is bald with a black beard and mustache, according to police. Anyone with information on Lopez can call police at 801-840-4000.
He was convicted in 2007 of attempted murder and three counts of aggravated assault, according to court records. In that case, Lopez shot another man outside a Salt Lake City 7-Eleven store, leaving the victim paralyzed. He was sentenced to four consecutive terms of 2 to 20 years in the Utah State Prison, court records state.
Lopez was granted parole in March.
