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TAYLORSVILLE — A man whose argument was loud enough to catch the attention of bystanders now faces criminal charges accusing him of shooting at the people watching him.
Daniel Alejandro Martinez-Rodriguez, 20, of West Valley City, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with possession of a gun by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; plus aggravated assault and four counts of discharge of a firearm, third-degree felonies.
On April 9, Martinez-Rodriguez was walking with his girlfriend to their parking stall at the Callaway Apartments, 1141 W. 3900 South. Witnesses told police the couple was "screaming and pushing each other," according to charging documents. The commotion caught the attention of a group of four people who were working on a vehicle in a parking stall nearby. One woman said she "got closer to see what was going on."
As the couple backed out of their parking space, their vehicle stopped and Martinez-Rodriguez got out of the passenger seat and took about five steps toward the woman who was watching.
"What are you looking at?" he asked the woman before he pulled out a handgun, pointed it at the woman and then "cocked it back," the charges state.
The woman told police she froze. One of her friends then stepped between the woman and Martinez-Rodriguez and asked him, "Is this really worth it?"
Martinez-Rodriguez got back into the car. But as it was backing up, he fired one round "in the direction of" the woman and her friends, according to the charging documents. Then as the car moved forward to leave the parking lot, three more shots were fired, police say. No one was injured.
Investigators found the vehicle after it crashed into a fence as it was speeding away, according to the charges. Martinez-Rodriguez then tried to enter an apartment that did not belong to him to hide from police, the charges allege. He and the woman were taken into custody. Police reported finding a 45 Glock handgun in a nearby bush.
The charges against Martinez-Rodriguez come less than three months after he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in January. In exchange for his guilty plea, which was to be held in abeyance, Martinez-Rodriguez was sentenced to three years of probation, according to court records.
