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SALT LAKE CITY — An accused gunman, who police say shot a man in the leg at a Salt Lake party, which then led to a police chase and fatal crash, is now facing criminal charges.
Andre Alexis Cienfuegos-Ruiz, 19, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with shooting a gun resulting in serious injury, a first-degree felony; and five counts of discharging a firearm in the direction of a person, a third-degree felony.
On Oct. 8, a large party was being held at 876 S. Edison Street when the hosts started kicking people out because of a fight. Outside the house, several people continued arguing.
A 20-year-old man says he pushed another man, avoided being punched by a second man, and then knocked the second man out, according to charging documents.
"(He) then heard a gunshot that came from a third person on scene and realized he got shot in his right leg," the charges state.
Police later said they identified Cienfuegos-Ruiz as the gunman. He explained to detectives after his arrest that "one homie got knocked out and then another, so I popped that fool," charging documents state.
Cienfuegos-Ruiz is accused of firing several rounds and running from the scene with his friend Rene Chacon, 19, who was arrested Wednesday for investigation of obstruction of justice.
"I told him it was stupid because I knew they had cameras there," Chacon told investigators, according to the charges. "I don't know who he was shooting at."
When police were originally responding to the shooting, they spotted a vehicle speeding away from the area. Believing the vehicle's occupants may be connected to the shooting, officers followed, and then engaged in a pursuit when the driver didn't pull over.
The vehicle sped through a roundabout at 1100 East and 900 South and crashed. Passenger Douglas Rodriguez, 21, was killed. The driver, Josue Yahir Hernandez-Perez, 20, is charged in 3rd District Court with manslaughter.
It was not known Friday whether Hernandez-Perez and Rodriguez had any connection to Cienfuegos-Ruiz and Chacon.
Also on Friday, in another interesting twist, Chacon was tied to a drug trafficking enterprise that has been under investigation for over a year. He was charged in 3rd District Court with drug distribution, a third-degree felony. According to investigators, Chacon is linked to a THC cartridge distribution ring headed up by Lucas Madrill, who currently faces multiple felony charges in several cases.
Detectives have been monitoring Chacon's movements and social media activity since July of 2023, charging documents state. They believe he picked up boxes of THC vapes from residences where Madrill allegedly stored his supplies, and then sold them online. When he was arrested in connection with the Oct. 8 shooting, police found in the alleged getaway vehicle "several disposable THC cartridges, as well as several empty boxes for THC cartridges...Chacon admitted to distributing THC cartridges, stating that he purchased upwards of 500 cartridges ever 2-3 weeks, and resold them, one to ten cartridges at at time," according to charging documents.
Eleven people are now listed as co-defendants in the investigation into Madrill's case.
