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PROVO — A Spanish Fork man admitted has admitted to recklessly causing the death of 16-year-old Camden Hales during a planned drug deal robbery gone bad in an Orem church parking lot.
Sidney Rodriguez, 20, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a third-degree felony, and aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony.
He said he arranged on Snapchat to meet someone and buy drugs in an Orem church parking lot at 1780 N. 165 East on June 2, 2021.
Rodriguez, then 18, was with his younger brother, Andre Rodriguez who was 16, and a 20-year-old driver who was not charged, when they went to the location. There were four individuals in the other group, including Hales.
While Sidney Rodriguez was in the back seat of the other car making the exchange for drugs, his younger brother approached the car with a rifle and ordered the people in the other group to give them both the drugs and the money, according to a plea statement.
"The victims tried to reason with Andre Rodriguez. Andre Rodriguez repeated that he would shoot the victims if they would not comply with his commands," the court document states.
One of the people in the car that was being robbed then reached for the rifle, trying to take it away from the teenager, but Andre Rodriguez then fired the gun, wounding two people. A second shot hit a different person, Sidney Rodriguez explained in his plea statement.
Afterward, the younger brother pulled out a handgun and fired at the car as it drove away while the older brother got out of the moving car after gaining possession of the rifle, the statement said.
While the car was driving away, a shot fired from the handgun hit Camden Hales a second time in the neck, leading to his death.
Two other victims were shot in their lower extremities and were treated at a hospital. The teenager who arranged the meeting with Sidney Rodriguez was not shot, but did receive burns from grabbing the barrel of the rifle, according to the plea statement.
Sidney Rodriguez is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 10.
He was previously charged in the case with murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies; two counts of felony discharge of a firearm with injuries and obstructing justice, second-degree felonies; and felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony. He pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and in exchange, most of the other charges were dismissed.
Andre Rodriguez, who turned 18 this year, was charged as an adult and is still facing the same charges his brother was previously charged with. His case is scheduled for a jury trial beginning on Sept. 19.
Andre previously said his brother did not know about the plan to rob the other group and he had acted alone. However, Sidney Rodriguez admitted knowing it would be a robbery and his initial statements to police led them to believe he knew as well, court documents state.
The driver, who was never charged, told officers he did not know it was going to be a robbery and drove away with the brothers afterward because he was afraid.
