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OGDEN — An Ogden man was ordered Tuesday to spend the next decade in prison after pleading guilty to killing a man outside an Ogden grocery store in 2019.
Everardo Guadarrama-Garcia, 26, was sentenced to a term of 15 years to life in prison for murder, a first-degree felony.
The 26-year-old signed off on a plea deal in April. In exchange for pleading guilty to murder, prosecutors dropped three other charges against him, including obstructing justice, a second-degree felony, aggravated assault and possession or use of a firearm by a restricted person, third-degree felonies.
Guadarrama-Garcia admitted to shooting and killing Mauricio Hernandez Olmedo, 24, outside an Ogden store on May 18, 2019. Just before midnight, police were sent to Super Groceries, 511 31st Street in Ogden. When officers arrived, they found Hernandez Olmedo lying dead outside the store. He had been shot three times, and police found multiple spent .45-caliber shell casings on the ground. Guadarrama-Garcia was found nearby and confessed to the killing while being taken into custody, according to charging documents, which also state that he told police he had smoked methamphetamine earlier that night.
Guadarrama-Garcia appeared in court Tuesday and briefly addressed the judge through a Spanish interpreter, saying he wished the shooting didn't happen and if he could change the past, he would.
"I only want to say that I'm sorry," he said.
A supporter of Guadarrama-Garcia also spoke at the hearing, saying she always knew him to be a respectful and friendly person, but someone who has always had a sadness in his heart. The woman said Guadarrama-Garcia lost his mother when he was young, and his father later left. She admitted that he made a bad choice, and urged the judge to keep in mind that Guadarrama-Garcia had "no guidance in life."
Olmedo's mother also spoke at the hearing through a Spanish translator and she rebuffed the woman's statements that Guadarrama-Garcia should receive sympathy. She said Guadarrama-Garcia fired a gun at her son's home during a previous encounter, and asked the judge to give him his due punishment.
"Everardo is not the person described in that statement," she said.
Second District Judge Noel Hyde called the shooting a tragic loss that could have been avoided, and one that has impacted many lives. There was no justification for the shooting, whatsoever, he said. Hyde said that given the first-degree murder plea, Guadarrama-Garcia's sentence was essentially predetermined by legislative guidelines.
Guadarrama-Garcia was sentenced to the 15-year-to-life prison term, though Hyde said the total amount of time in prison will be up to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. Guadarrama-Garcia also must pay around $8,500 in restitution.
