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PROVO — A Provo courtroom was full of tears on Monday as the sister of Camden Hales talked about how hard his loss has been on their family. Many of them wore buttons with his picture to the sentencing for the man who shot him.
"Camden had such a sweet soul, and he had a lot going for him," she said.
Savannah Hales said she would not wish a similar loss on her worst enemy, turning to the teenager who shot and killed her brother to emphasize that this included him, "no matter how evil you are."
"That pain was awful and my soul will forever be broken," she said.
Andre Rodriguez, 18, of Spanish Fork, was given consecutive prison sentences after he pleaded guilty to shooting at a car that was driving away from him after he tried to rob teenagers during a drug deal, with one shot killing Hales.
Fourth District Judge Christine Johnson sentenced him to between two and 20 years in prison for murder, a second-degree felony; five years to life in prison for aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; and three to 15 years in prison for felony discharge of a firearm causing injury, a second-degree felony.
What happened?
The shooting occurred about 6 p.m. on June 2, 2021, at 1780 N. 165 East in Orem. Deputy Utah County attorney Richard Kennerley said this area was close to a park — the Murdock Canal Trail — and multiple homes and cars that were hit by bullets. He said multiple witnesses heard what happened, including a father and son on a trail and a grandmother in her yard who brought her grandchildren inside for safety.
"It was a highly dangerous event to everyone in the community," he said.
While his brother was inside negotiating a drug deal, Rodriguez approached the other car with a rifle and ordered those inside to turn over their money and drugs, according to a statement supporting his guilty plea.
A struggle ensued over the rifle leading to two shots being fired, Kennerley said, one that hit the legs of two teenagers in the back seat, Camden Hales and Max Day, and another that hit the driver, Stefano Damiano, going through his seat and his thigh.
After Rodriguez's brother got out of the car with the rifle that had been pulled inside, Kennerley said, Rodriguez pulled a 9 mm gun out of his belt and fired additional shots at the car as it drove away, one of which hit and killed Camden Hales.
Kennerley said between 2018 and 2023 there have been 1,916 juvenile arrests due to drugs in Utah County; of them, 41 involved a weapon and only one resulted in a homicide. Days before the shooting, Rodriguez searched "top cartel killer" and "drug lord" on his phone, Kennerley said, arguing that he is a public safety risk.
Family and friends deal with trauma
Camden Hales' mom, Holly Lee, said he was a loyal friend and had hopes, dreams and goals. She said he was empathetic and sweet. She talked about not being able to see him color again. She said joy has been robbed from her and her family.
She told the judge her son had a right to life that was taken from him by Rodriguez.
"We have to face this every day … the trauma and the graphicness of it, the horribleness of it. Camden did not deserve what happened to him," Holly Hales said.
His stepmother and father also spoke, talking about plans they had for the future that are not the same now that their son is not here.
"You don't ever get over something like this, you just get used to it," Geoff Hales said.
Carlon Williams, Camden Hales uncle, said he worked for 25 years in law enforcement and never thought during that time he would be speaking at a hearing about the loss of a family member.
"What's happened to my nephew Camden is unbelievable. No one should ever have to go through this," he said. "When it's your own family it's completely different."
He said Camden Hales was not a drug dealer, it was just "four kids being dumb" and buying marijuana.
The other boy who was in the back seat, Max Day, said he held Camden with his blood soaking him, according to a letter read by his mother, Gretchen Day, who said her son had a hard time letting go of his friend's body.
"The life he left behind misses him deeply ... I'll forever be holding Camden in my arms," his mom read.
Gretchen Day said when her son came home that day he was covered in blood, and because of his bullet wound he was not allowed to shower. She used wet wipes to wash her son clean and said it was later she learned that it was Camden's blood she was wiping from his body. She said her son told her he was only alive because he ducked in time.
'Dumb decisions'
Lisa Estrada, the attorney for Rodriguez, disagreed with Williams' statement that the teenagers were not drug dealers; she claimed that they were selling mushrooms, not marijuana.
She said her client accepts responsibility and understands he is going to prison.
"This was a horrible situation … that just went a very bad way," she said.
Estrada said it is still disputed whether her client fired the rifle inside the car, and said the trigger could have been pulled unintentionally as other boys were trying to take the rifle from him. She said the story is not as clear as others presented.
"Everybody had a hand in this ... everybody," she said.
Andre Rodriguez apologized to the victims and their families and said he was sorry. He said he "made some dumb decisions" that are now the reason Camden Hales' family does not get to see him.
What's next?
Andre Rodriguez will remain in juvenile detention until he is 25 years old, after the judge granted a request by his attorney at the sentencing hearing to not move him to prison immediately so he can work toward graduation and continue therapy.
Andre Rodriguez's older brother, Sidney Rodriguez, pleaded guilty on Aug. 10 to manslaughter and aggravated robbery for his role in the incident, admitting he knew there was a plan for a robbery. He will be sentenced on Dec. 4.
