Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — One of the suspected gunmen believed to have shot and killed a man in a Walgreens parking lot in Salt Lake City in September has been arrested.
Felix Diego-Rufino, 19, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail early Thursday for investigation of murder.
He is accused of shooting J'kye Lovell Ray Watkins, 18, outside Walgreens, 909 E. 2100 South, just after 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 10.
According to Salt Lake police, Watkins had gone to a "private event club" near 2000 South and 900 East with friends prior to the shooting. Inside the club, Watkins got into a fight with another man.
Friends took Watkins out of the club and they began walking across the Walgreens parking lot to go to a nearby McDonald's. That's when a car pulled up. "Multiple" people wearing ski masks or hoodies to cover their faces got out of the car and at least two men began shooting at Watkins, one of them telling Watkins, "You started this," according to court documents.
Watkins was shot eight times and 18 shell casings were recovered from the scene, according to police. The gunmen then got back into the vehicle and drove away.
Police said they identified Diego-Rufino using video from nearby security cameras, as well as information gathered in witness interviews and social media.
"Social media account data for Felix Diego-Rufino was reviewed and messages were observed sharing the information about the private party event from the night of the shooting. Cellphone data from Felix Diego-Rufino's cellphone are consistent with his cellphone device in the area on the night of the shooting," according to a police booking affidavit.
Surveillance video shows the group in the car circling the area several times, apparently "hunting for the victim in this case," the affidavit states.
The investigation into the shooting continued Thursday as detectives looked for the second gunman.
