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OGDEN — A Hooper man accused of murder in Weber County for shooting and killing an unhoused man in 2018 now knows his verdict.
An Ogden jury on Friday found Cory Michael Fitzwater, 38, guilty of murder, a first-degree felony, possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person and two counts of tampering with a witness, third-degree felonies. The jury trial began on Feb. 4 and continued for eight days over two weeks, according to court documents.
Fitzwater was one of two people charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Brian Racine, a 28-year-old man who was sleeping at a homeless encampment near the 21st Street pond when he was shot in the head during the early morning hours of Aug. 16, 2018. The other man charged, Dalton Aiken, 31, of North Ogden, was also found guilty of murder, a first-degree felony, after a jury trial and was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison.
Charging documents state that Fitzwater and Aiken were in the area that day "to find and harass homeless people."
Fitzwater and Aiken were arrested shortly after the shooting by Weber County sheriff's deputies who were in the area and noticed a car parked nearby. The deputies later pulled over the car and noticed the smell of marijuana. They found marijuana in Aiken's pocket, and they also found a handgun between the seats and a magazine in the passenger seat, according to charging documents.
Police were called to the encampment later in the day, and they discovered Racine dead.**
After their arrests, Fitzwater and Aiken accused each other of shooting and killing Racine during phone calls from jail, according to testimony during a preliminary hearing.
Several months after his arrest, prosecutors filed additional charges against Fitzwater, accusing him of trying to bribe fellow residents at the Weber County Jail to tell investigators they had heard Aiken say he was the one who shot Racine.
Charging documents state multiple people in jail came forward to tell investigators they believed Aiken was the killer. However, investigators later found that Fitzwater had offered to pay these fellow inmates to tell police they had heard Aiken confessing to the murder, the court records state. The alleged bribes led to the obstructing justice and witness tampering charges.
On Friday, the jury not only convicted Fitzwater on the murder and gun charges, but obstruction and witness tampering charges, as well.
Fitzwater, who was mistakenly released by the jail after his initial arrest, has remained in Weber County Jail custody without bail since September 2018. Court records indicate he is slated to be sentenced on March 28 at Ogden's 2nd District Court.
