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SOUTH JORDAN — A West Jordan man was charged Thursday with kidnapping and killing a man whose body was found in the trunk of a burning car.
Dillon Edward Noble, 30, is charged in 3rd District Court with murder and aggravated kidnapping, first-degree felonies.
On Nov. 24, the body of Joseph Lee "Gino" Montoya, 50, was found in his burning Mercedes near 11700 S. Bingham Rim Road. Emergency crews were originally called to a car that was engulfed in flames.
"The fire department extinguished the fire shortly after arrival. Once the fire was extinguished, the trunk was pried open which revealed a partially charred body," according to charging documents.
Two days later, agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration who were conducting a separate drug trafficking investigation near 6500 S. Redwood Road contacted South Jordan police to tell them their case may have a connection to the car fire.
DEA agents had placed a tracking device on a vehicle, a Jaguar, as part of their case. The vehicle was recorded as being at a house on Redwood Road before going to the same location where Montoya's body was found, a police booking affidavit states. Police say the Jaguar belonged to Denis Madsen, 61, who lives at the Redwood Road address along with Noble and Noble's father, Caile Noble, 65.
DEA agents also "intercepted video footage of an altercation occurring on Nov. 24 around 5:48 p.m. in the parking area of the Redwood house" between Montoya and others, police said.
Surveillance video showed Montoya arriving at the Redwood house at about 8 a.m.
"The Mercedes remained parked in the driveway as other vehicles arrived at and left the residence. At approximately (5:36 p.m.) a group of four to five individuals walked out of the residence and an altercation occurred next to Gino's Mercedes," the charges state.
Montoya got into his car, started to back out, then "stopped, placed the vehicle in park, exited the vehicle and proceeded to walk back to the group who were still standing in the driveway. There then appeared to be another altercation between the driver of the Mercedes and the group," according to the charges.
Police say Montoya returned to the driver's seat while another person got into the passenger seat. The vehicle began to drive away, but three minutes later did a U-turn and returned to the driveway. One minute later, a person is seen standing behind the vehicle and it "appeared several individuals were involved in placing something in the trunk," the charges state.
About 40 minutes later, both the Mercedes and Jaguar were observed leaving the Redwood house.
Madsen told police he was ordered to drive Montoya's car while Noble drove his Jaguar. When they got to the South Jordan location, "Madsen informed the police that Noble directed Madsen to pour gasoline on the car from the gas container they had brought and then set fire to it. Madsen, Shields and Noble then got back into the car and left," the charges state.
"Video and digital evidence, along with statements by witnesses, confirmed that Edward Noble, Denis Madsen and John Shields were present when the Mercedes was lit on fire," the charges allege.
On Feb. 20, a witness told police that when Noble hit Montoya, Montoya "'went down' immediately and was 'snoring,'" according to the charges. Police say "snoring" is commonly associated with agonal breathing.
The witness said Montoya "was on the ground bleeding but was still breathing" when Noble "got on top of Gino and hit him five or six more times" and then hit him three or four more times once Montoya's body was in the trunk, the charges state.
An autopsy determined that Montoya suffered "multiple traumatic injuries and the manner of death to be homicide," according to the charges. The Utah State Medical Examiner's Office also found soot in Montoya's trachea, suggesting "that Gino had been alive and breathing to some extent after the fire had been set to the Mercedes."
Montoya also suffered a skull fracture, broken trachea and broken nose, according to the charges.
Madsen, Caile Noble, Shields, 61, and Cavell Eddie Tupai, 29, are all listed as codefendants in charging documents, but formal charges had not been filed against them as of Thursday.
