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KEARNS — Police responding to a report of a man who had possibly suffered a heart attack over the weekend discovered that the victim had actually been shot.
The case is now being investigated as a homicide.
On Sunday, Unified police were called just before 8 a.m. to 4057 W. 4990 South "on reports of a full arrest with a male unconscious and not breathing." Vicente Peralta, 25, was found in a detached garage on the property. Officers soon learned, however, the man had been shot at least once, according to a police booking affidavit.
"No weapon was located on scene, however a single 9mm casing was located very near (Peralta's) body," the affidavit states.
Detectives say Peralta was last seen in the garage about 2 a.m. and his body was discovered around 7 a.m. One witness reported hearing a gunshot about 5:15 a.m., but didn't see anything, the affidavit says.
Investigators began collecting names of people who have ties to the home in order to question them, including 30-year-old Elmer Areiga Hernandez. At the time, Hernandez was too intoxicated to be questioned, according to the affidavit. Another person at the home agreed to take Hernandez to the police department's Kearns precinct for an interview on Monday.
But when detectives questioned Hernandez on Monday, "he was caught in several small lies, including his whereabouts the night of the homicide. Elmer was provided with several opportunities to account for his whereabouts and knowledge of the investigation, which Elmer continued to tell detectives he did not know what happened," the arrest report says.
On Wednesday, police received additional information that between 5:30 a.m. and 5:45 a.m. on Sunday, Hernandez had gone to the residence of a man who co-owns the property at 4990 South and asked for help with an "unknown person" who was in his car and was injured, the affidavit alleges. The unknown person had allegedly been in a fight with Peralta.
The man who Hernandez sought help from said "he never saw the unknown person (in the car) and refused to help Elmer, but told him to take him to a hospital and call the police. (He) provided information that there were cameras on his and his neighbor's home. This video was collected as evidence," according to the affidavit.
Wednesday afternoon, police found Hernandez at the residence where Peralta was found and was they detained him for a second interview.
"When confronted with the new information, Elmer continued to lie about knowledge of the unknown person or their involvement with the case. When Elmer was confronted with the knowledge detectives had regarding the surveillance camera, Elmer continued to change his story, but leave lapses in time, leaving more questions unanswered," investigators wrote in the affidavit.
At the end of the interview, Hernandez was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of obstruction of justice.
The investigation into the killing — including identifying the gunman — continued Thursday. Police are asking residents in the area to check doorbell and surveillance cameras, or contact police at 801-840-4000 if they saw or heard anything between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m. that day.
