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OGDEN — A Pleasant View man will spend at least the next decade in prison after he pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a man during a drug deal in Ogden back in 2020.
Caleb Michael Skipps, 21, was sentenced Monday to consecutive terms of 10 years to life in prison and one to 15 years in prison. On Jan. 13, Skipps pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and manslaughter, a second-degree felony.
He was initially charged with felony counts of obstructing justice, possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person and carrying a concealed and loaded firearm. Those charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement.
On Jan. 9, 2020, police in Ogden were sent to a church parking lot at 236 Porter Ave. and found a 21-year-old man lying on the ground with gunshot wounds. Isaac Gonzalez was taken by ambulance to McKay-Dee Hospital where he later died. Charging documents say that another man, who was not named in documents, later arrived at the same hospital with a gunshot wound to an upper extremity. That man identified the shooter as Skipps.
Two women told police that they were present during the shooting. Both told police they took Skipps to the church on Porter Avenue to meet someone. While they were playing Pokemon Go on their phones, the two said they saw Skipps "involved in an altercation" with Gonzalez before hearing gunshots, according to charging documents. Skipps quickly entered the car and told one of the women to drive away.
Investigators later interviewed Skipps, who admitted to shooting Gonzalez and the other man, who were both unarmed, according to charging documents. Police say Skipps admitted that he was there for a drug deal when he and Gonzalez started fighting and told police he shot at both of the men before trying to flee. Court documents say he also told police he started throwing clothes out of the car's window while driving in the hopes of disposing of evidence.
He also threw the gun, a Ruger LCP 380, in a garbage can on 24th Street, the charges say. Police found 380 auto casings at the crime scene.
Skipps also told police he was a habitual user of marijuana, smoking 28 grams of marijuana dabs per months. He told police he smoked dab marijuana around 2 p.m. the same day.
