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GENOLA, Utah County — The girlfriend of a man accused of shooting two people at an unlicensed rodeo near Utah Lake has been arrested and charged with trying to mislead police about his involvement.
Iran Torres, 46, of Orem, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Tuesday and charged Friday in 2nd District Court with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.
On Sept. 4, a rodeo was held at Lincoln Beach on the west side of West Mountain near the town of Genola. Cesar Matias Sevilla-Aleman, 25, of Orem, shot a man in the stomach at close range, according to charging documents. The bullet traveled through that man and hit a second man in the arm. The man shot in the stomach was treated for critical injuries, according to the Utah County Sheriff's Office.
Servilla-Aleman was charged Monday in 4th District Court with attempted murder and discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, first-degree felonies, in addition to other charges.
After the shooting, Sevilla-Aleman drove away with Torres from the rodeo, according to police. They were spotted by Springville police and stopped. A gun was located by police "on the floor in front of the passenger front seat in plain sight," a police affidavit states. But when questioned by detectives, Torres "denied ever seeing a gun in the vehicle."
Torres also claimed that during the nine months she had been dating Servilla-Aleman, she had never seen him with a gun, even though when police searched her phone, officers "located multiple pictures and videos showing Sevilla-Aleman in possession of one or more handguns. Multiple videos show Sevilla-Aleman with two handguns in his hands or lap while driving Torres' car. Torres is also seen in some of these videos," charging documents state.
"(Torres) is attempting to cover up the fact that the male suspect has been in possession of any firearms. She is also attempting to mislead detectives in thinking the male suspect had any involvement in the shooting," arresting officers wrote in the affidavit.
The sheriff's office noted that the rodeo organizers did not obtain a permit to host the event and alcohol was being sold without a license. The investigation into those violations is continuing.
