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WEST JORDAN — West Jordan police have arrested a third man in connection with the killing of a man who was stabbed and thrown from a moving vehicle onto the Bangerter Highway.
Seferino Ruiz, 55, of West Valley City, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of obstruction of justice and unlawfully possessing and accessing someone else's bank card.
Cesar Adan Martinez, 37, was stabbed multiple times on Feb. 26 while getting a ride home in his own car, and was thrown onto the Bangerter Highway near 8300 South where his body was found about 2:40 a.m. His car was later found abandoned in East Canyon.
Mario Alberto Carreto-Morales, 24, of Magna, was charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, while Raul Jaimes Cortez, 30, of Magna, was charged with murder, a first-degree felony. In addition, both men were charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.
On March 13, Park City police received a report of a man who was held at knifepoint by two men, and taken to Salt Lake City where he was forced to withdraw $1,000 from his bank account. Information collected by detectives in Park City helped West Jordan police connect Carreto-Morales and Cortez to Martinez's death, according to charging documents.
Police believe that prior to Martinez's death, Carreto-Morales took Martinez's bank card and attempted to use it, according to the police booking affidavit for Ruiz. The day after Martinez was found dead, detectives say a second person, Ruiz, attempted to access Martinez's bank account.
As detectives looked further into the robbery on March 13, they learned that Carreto-Morales was in contact with Ruiz while he was at the ATM and forcing the victim to withdraw money, according to the affidavit.
"I further reviewed Seferino's cellphone records and found over 240 calls and text messages between Mario and Seferino between Feb. 22 and March 14," the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit.
On Wednesday, West Jordan police attempted to question Ruiz. He denied knowing Carreto-Morales when shown pictures of him and denied ever calling or texting him, the affidavit states.
As the officer was placing Ruiz under arrest, he explained to him what he is accused of doing.
"Seferino was told he accessed a homicide victim's account with his cellphone number," the affidavit states. "Seferino spontaneously uttered that he let Mario borrow his phone. I told Seferino he stated he did not even know Mario."
Police note in the affidavit and Ruiz "is suspected of aiding two other suspects commit kidnappings and robberies and, as a result of one of the kidnapping/robberies, the victim was stabbed to death."
