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SALT LAKE CITY — A second man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to charges related to a 2019 shooting in Millcreek that resulted in another man's death. Prosecutors say the disagreement began over threatening Facebook messages.
Edgar Omar Esquivel, 22, of West Jordan pleaded guilty on Oct. 4 to manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and criminal solicitation, a third-degree felony.
He was sentenced for both charges in the same hearing and will spend 364 days in jail for each charge. Third District Judge Amber M. Mettler ordered that Esquivel be given no credit for time already served and not be released early for good behavior. Following the two additional years in jail, he will be placed on probation for five years. Both charges were given a prison term sentence that was suspended if Esquivel follows the terms of this sentence.
In a court document supporting the guilty plea, Esquivel admitted to recklessly causing the death of Taylor Kauvaka.
Esquivel admitted that he called Alekzander Ethan May and said he was in danger, knowing May had a new shotgun. Esquivel told May he was going to be in a fight and intentionally did not tell May that he had started the disagreement through messages on social media — threatening to rape and kill a woman and her baby.
The baby's father arranged to meet Esquivel at Sunnyvale Apartments in Millcreek and brought others with him, including Kauvaka, the plea statement says.
Kauvaka, 31, continued walking toward Esquivel and May after seeing the shotgun, although the baby's father and another man had stopped. May raised the shotgun and fired, killing Kauvaka, the document says.
"Esquivel was with May when this occurred, and but for Esquivel's continued actions to instigate a fight, even after he knew May had arrived with a shotgun, the two parties would not have had any physical interaction that night and Taylor Kauvaka would not have been killed," the plea statement says.
Through the signed court document, Esquivel admitted he instigated the argument, persistently contacted the other group, and knew that May had brought his shotgun and loaded it — meaning he was aware that his actions caused a large risk. He admitted to encouraging May while withholding information from May.
Mettler said Esquivel's probation would be a "zero tolerance probation." Any violations, including contact with the victim or victim's family or any use of social media platforms along with typical probation requirements, will lead to a prison sentence that the judge suspended in favor of a sentence agreed to by both Esquivel and the state.
Esquivel's suspended sentence is between one and 15 years in prison for the manslaughter charge and between zero and five years for the other charge, with the sentences running concurrently.
May, 21, of Midvale pled guilty in August 2021 to manslaughter, a second-degree felony for the death of Kauvaka. He was sentenced in April to between one and 15 years in the Utah State Prison.
