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SALT LAKE CITY — Months ago, a judge dismissed a murder charge against a 16-year-old who shot and killed Englandsienna Happy Valley Pauulu, 22, ruling that the shooting was in self-defense.
But 3rd District Judge Barry Lawrence ruled Thursday that his previous ruling doesn't necessarily mean the murder charge filed against a man accused of passing the teenager the gun should be dismissed. He said the charge of murder, a first-degree felony, against Jaime Dirzo-Portugal, 24, will stand.
During a justification hearing in October, Lawrence concluded that Dirzo-Portugal was being beaten by a larger man on June 13, 2021, when he called to 16-year-old Alex Ruiz-Martinez and passed the boy his gun. Lawrence said the teenager believed Dirzo-Portugal's life was in danger when he fired the shot, and his actions were reasonable. In the hearing, he said prosecutors could not prove that the shot was not legally justified.
Under a state law that took effect in May 2021, a person charged with a crime of unlawful use of force can request a justification hearing in front of a judge. The law shifts the decision about whether someone acted in defense of themselves or in defense of someone else from a jury to a judge, and allows the judge to dismiss the charges if warranted.
Lawrence said there is a "narrow window" for prosecutors to prove Dirzo-Portugal is guilty of murder when the person who fired the shot is not, and said there is a "fairly slim change the state is going to prevail." However, the judge said he will keep an open mind.
The fight between Pauulu and Dirzo-Portugal began when the two bumped shoulders while crossing the street outside a Salt Lake night club about 1:30 a.m. Witnesses previously testified that the bump was intentional, but it was unclear who initiated it. In his ruling at the justification hearing in October, Lawrence noted that Pauulu weighs 264 pounds while Dirzo-Portugal weighs 150 pounds. He said based on testimony at that hearing, Pauulu had pinned Dirzo-Portugal to the ground and there was no sign of the attack letting up.
Salt Lake County deputy district attorney Nathaniel Sanders argued that although the justification hearing led to a ruling that Ruiz-Martinez believed he was protecting Dirzo-Portugal from serious injury or death, that doesn't necessarily mean Dirzo-Portugal believed he was in danger of serious injury or death when he passed the gun.
He said the theory is "not fully developed" but said the charges should remain intact while prosecutors are allowed to continue investigating. He said maybe Dirzo-Portugal knew he was not in danger, but was annoyed the other guy was winning the fight. "It's an ego question," he said.
Sanders said Ruiz-Martinez is younger and may not have known exactly what was going on.
"If you bring a gun to a party and you give it to someone else and tell them to shoot somebody, that's pretty clear," Sanders said.
He argued that a dead body, and the possibility of bringing justice to the victim's family, justifies the judge allowing the charge to stand.
Dirzo-Portugal's attorney, Amy Fowler, argued that it could be hard to prove a conviction when there is already a ruling that the shooter was legally justified. She said there has already been extensive testimony in the case, at preliminary hearings and justification hearings for Ruiz-Martinez, and if there were evidence that her client is guilty it would have come out at that point.
"You can't hold somebody accountable when there isn't any crime to be accountable for," she argued.
Sanders said he wants to consider testimony from a girlfriend who was at the home the suspects went to after the shooting, and a passenger in the car as they drove away from the scene who may have heard conversations or noticed Dirzo-Portugal's demeanor.
The judge said although the "theoretical possibility" that Dirzo-Portugal is guilty of the charges allows the case to move forward, he said the only thing it can come down to is whether Dirzo-Portugal acted reasonably. He said the underlying claim is "basically gone now."
"If (Dirzo-Portugal) was not truly imperiled … since he started the chain … perhaps the result should be different," he said.
Lawrence decided to reject Sanders' request to bring Dirzo-Portugal into custody, despite his absence from all hearings before Thursday's hearing on a motion to dismiss the charges against him.
He said allowing the charges to stand will inconvenience Dirzo-Portugal, but said if he had been present at the earlier justification hearing the case may have been resolved by now.
Fowler explained that her client is not documented but has been in the U.S. most of his life and is worried being brought to jail will lead to him being deported, which is why he initially fled.
"If we put him in jail right now, on a case that eventually gets dismissed … that deportation is a much greater consequence," she said.
His attorney said she is positive he will continue coming to court, and said Dirzo-Portugal had never been in trouble before and has family support.
