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SANDY — A Kearns man who police believe was involved in two shootings in three days in Salt Lake County has been charged in connection with one of those cases.
Investigators say Semaj Deshawn Davis, 22, shot someone outside a Sandy motel on Sunday and then shot at another person outside a West Valley motel two days later, according to police.
Davis was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Tuesday night for investigation of aggravated assault resulting in serious injury for the Sandy incident. On Thursday, he was charged in 3rd District Court in connection with the West Valley incident with possession of a weapon by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony; and intoxication, a class C misdemeanor.
About 6 a.m. Sunday, Davis approached another man outside the Extended Stay America motel, 10715 S. Auto Mall Drive, and pointed a gun at him, according to a police booking affidavit.
"Semaj began to verbally argue with the victim, believed to be in his 30s, in front of several other witnesses for a short time then shot the victim in the midsection," the affidavit states.
An update on the victim's condition was not immediately available Wednesday, but Sandy police said the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Then on Tuesday, Davis was taken into custody following an incident when shots were fired in West Valley City at a Comfort Inn, 2229 W. City Center Court. No injuries were reported.
According to charging documents, Semaj got into an argument with an acquaintance, when he "began chasing (the man) around the parking lot. Davis took out a gun and shot a round toward (the man) who was still running away from Davis." Police questioning Davis "observed he was under the influence of some substance and then recognized the smell of alcohol," the charges state.
Sandy police were already out looking for Davis, whom they had identified as their suspect, when the incident in West Valley City was reported. Based on the information that was being reported on their police radios, a gang detective with Sandy police recognized that Davis might also be involved in the West Valley shooting.
Detectives were able to match the gun used in West Valley with their case on Sunday, according to the affidavit. A car was also found at the motel that matched the description of the vehicle Davis used after the Sandy shooting, police said.
Police also served a search warrant on Davis' residence on Tuesday night near 5900 South and 4100 West. It was not known Wednesday if any evidence was collected.
Although he agreed to answer questions after being arrested, police noted that "Samaj was uncooperative with interviews and stated he was drunk and special needs," according to the affidavit.
Formal charges in the Sandy incident had not been filed as of Thursday. Prosecutors have requested that Davis be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail pending trial on his current charges.
Davis is currently on parole. According to court records, he was convicted of robbery, a second-degree felony, in 2018. He was initially given a suspended sentence of one to 15 years at the Utah State Prison. But he violated his probation and in 2019 and was ordered to serve his original sentence, according to court records.
That violation occurred when Davis committed another robbery at gunpoint in 2019, court records state. He was convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery in that case and sentenced to a term of two to 20 years in prison, which a judge ordered to run concurrently with his original sentence.
