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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who police say fired into a crowd of people participating in a soccer game at a Salt Lake public park last week, injuring two people, told officers he had fled to Utah after he "shot and killed his neighbor in Texas" earlier this year, according to charging documents.
Steven Matthew Macias, 33, is now facing more than two dozen felony charges in relation to the Utah case, and could face additional charges in Texas. He was charged in 3rd District Court Thursday with two counts of discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony; two counts of obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; as well as aggravated assault and 20 additional counts of discharge of a firearm, third-degree felonies.
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office is seeking for Macias to be held without bail, noting that he "has no ties to Utah and has no reason to remain here" and that he is also a person of interest in a homicide case in Texas.
The litany of charges stem from a shooting on May 1. About 7:30 p.m., Salt Lake police responded to multiple reports of a shooting at the 17th South River Park, 1150 W. 1700 South. A 65-year-old man who was sitting in his truck and a 21-year-old man who was playing soccer at the park were both wounded, according to police.
The 65-year-old man told police that he was sitting in his truck drinking beers and watching soccer games when Macias arrived at the park and started drinking with him. The two and a third person continued drinking together even after the third person left, according to the charging documents.
He added that they went to a store and got more beer before returning to the park. The man said he fell asleep because he was "super drunk" but awoke to find Macias confronting him "about some money that was missing," the charges state. Macias then allegedly began going through the man's truck but couldn't find the money he was looking for.
"(The man) stated that he was sitting in his truck watching the kids play soccer when he suddenly heard gunshots and realized that Macias was shooting at him and also toward the soccer field," the charges state. "(The man) stated that Macias stood in front of him and shot into his truck, striking him in the chest. (He) got out of the truck and started running across the street."
Another witness told police that they saw a man near the soccer field "asking a kid who was sitting on the benches if he had seen his money" just before the shooting began as well, according to the charges. The 21-year-old man was critically injured after he was also shot in the chest. No update was provided on his condition Thursday.
Salt Lake police dispatch received a call the following morning from someone who claimed that he was at the park and "thinks he may have done something, and he needed law enforcement to know where he was," police said. The court documents note that police used cellphone data to determine that the number of the caller was in the area of the park at the time of the shooting.
Utah Highway Patrol troopers eventually caught up with Macias and arrested him in Eureka, Juab County, later in the day.
Macias told police that he was visiting Utah and started drinking with two other people, becoming "intoxicated" at some point. He lost "some money" and began confronting the 65-year-old man he was drinking with during the evening, according to the charges.
"Macias stated that he was upset with the older Hispanic male, so he took out his AR-15 from his vehicle and started shooting at the older Hispanic male while he was sitting in his truck," the charges say. "Macias admitted that he then turned and started shooting into the crowd behind him. Macias admitted that he was aware of the people around him and he had no regard for anything."
Police say he said he dumped the gun near a lake after the shooting. He also told police that he had only been in Utah "for a couple of months" after he killed his neighbor in Texas at the start of the year, the charges allege.
The court documents did not indicate where in Texas the potential shooting took place. Macias is scheduled to make an initial appearance in 3rd District Court on Monday, according to state court records.
