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SALT LAKE CITY — A Moab man charged nearly four years ago in a West Jordan murder investigation — whose charges were dismissed the day before he was scheduled to go to trial — is now facing those same criminal charges again.
Jaydan Marshall Olsen, 26, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with obstructing justice, a second-degree felony, and drug possession with intent to distribute, a third-degree felony.
On Sept. 13, 2018, just after 12:30 a.m., Noe Armijo-Luna, 20, was eating in Rancheritos, 7849 S. Redwood Road, with a friend when Olsen and Jonathan Hunt walked in. Armijo-Luna and Olsen had been messaging each other through Snapchat before Olsen arrived at the restaurant, according to charging documents.
A witness told police that Hunt and Olsen "appeared upset" with Armijo-Luna and argued with him. While Armijo-Luna was still seated, Hunt punched him in the head and then shot him twice as he stood up, the charges state.
West Jordan police said in 2018 that even though Hunt was the gunman, it was Olsen who had an ongoing dispute with Armijo-Luna. The two had been arguing for about five months, allegedly over a relationship with a girl whom Olsen used to date.
When police caught up with Olsen, they found all the social media apps on his phone had been erased right after the shooting, according to the charges, and a distributable amount of marijuana was also found in a backpack in his apartment.
Hunt, who was 18 at the time, was charged with murder and discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, first-degree felonies. In December, a judge ordered him to stand trial on the charges, but no trial date had been set, according to court records.
Olsen was originally charged with the same crimes as he was charged with on Tuesday. But his case was dismissed on Oct. 21, 2019, the day before he was scheduled to go to trial. The case was ultimately dismissed "without prejudice," meaning prosecutors had the option of refiling charges at a later date. Olsen's defense attorneys unsuccessfully argued that the charges should have been dismissed "with prejudice," meaning Olsen could not be charged again in the future for the crime.
Prosecutors had asked for the trial to be delayed so they could have more time to investigate whether to increase Olsen's charge to murder, according to a 2019 court motion.
"The state has offered no new facts or evidence to support additional charges. This is nothing more than an attempt to buy more time. Mr. Olsen has spent 403 days patiently waiting for his day in court. This court can, and must, give Mr. Olsen that finality," the defense wrote in a court motion filed in October 2019. "Mr. Olsen asks that this court not allow the state to unduly burden the judicial process by repetitious litigation when attempting to screen charges stemming from the same criminal episode."
The motion was rejected by a judge.
