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WEST VALLEY CITY — A 15-year-old boy charged in juvenile court with murder for crashing into a house while fleeing from police, killing a man standing on the front porch, will now face charges as an adult.
Brayden Alexander Bangert, 15, of West Jordan, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; theft, a second-degree felony; and failing to respond to an officer's signal to stop, a third-degree felony.
However, under a waiver agreement also filed Tuesday, in exchange for Bangert waiving his preliminary hearing in 3rd District Juvenile Court, it is anticipated that prosecutors will at some point amend the murder charge in district court to manslaughter, a second-degree felony, and dismiss the remaining charges.
On May 22, 2023, a Honda CR-V was stolen from the Salt Lake City International Airport by two people who tried the door handles of five different vehicles in the economy parking lot before opening the Honda's door, according to charging documents. The alleged thieves then exited the airport by "jumping the curb, ramming the exit gate at the pay booth, and leaving the area heading westbound on I-80."
Three days later, on May 25, West Valley police spotted the stolen car near 3500 S. Redwood Road. The three people inside — Bangert, a 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl — tried to get away from officers by speeding through a residential area near 3000 West and 3100 South, the charges state. Police did not chase after the car.
In charging documents filed in juvenile court, the two other teens told detectives that Bangert had claimed he was driving his mother's car. But when he noticed police following them, he told the others that the car was actually stolen, according to the charges. At that point, the others told the teen "to let them out, as they didn't want to be involved in his (stuff)."
The car stopped, and Bangert and the two other teens attempted to walk away. But when officers approached them, Bangert ran back into the car and drove off, "sideswiping an unmarked police vehicle and running over a set of spike strips while accelerating. Officers confirmed that Bangert had run over the strips, puncturing all four tires before turning the blind curve onto Lehi Drive.
"As Bangert went around the blind corner, he struck a low curb going 76 mph in a 25 mph residential area, launching the vehicle into the air," the district charging documents continued. "Investigators confirmed that Bangert was at 99% full throttle when he went airborne, traveling 70 feet before landing in the front yard of a residence after striking the top of a 4-foot fence."
Adrian Hernandez-Rodriguez, 24, who was checking on an elderly neighbor at 3233 S. Lehi Drive (2750 West), was killed when Bangert's car crashed into him and the porch. Police searched for 25 minutes but didn't find Hernandez-Rodriguez until they started pinging his cellphone and found his body "underneath a large pile of debris," according to charging documents.
"Bangert struck victim Adrian Hernandez Rodriguez, who was standing in front of the home speaking to a resident, before crashing through the front and side of the home, through a chain-link fence, striking two vehicles in the neighboring driveway, and a gas line," the charges state.
Police later said they confirmed using surveillance video that Bangert was the boy who also stole the car from the airport.
In June, Bangert was charged in 3rd District Juvenile Court with murder.
