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SPRINGVILLE — A Spanish Fork woman accused of hindering a murder investigation in Springville for well over a year has been taken into custody and now faces two felony charges.
Chelsea Anna Acers, 32, who also goes by the name Chelsea Anna Breeze, was charged last week in 4th District Court with two counts of obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. She was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday.
On Oct. 8, 2022, Bobby Pool, 56, of Springville, was shot in the head and found dead in a van in an industrial area near 1851 N. Parkway Court. In January, Chase Michael Caimi, 32, of Springville, was charged with murder, a first-degree felony, in Pool's death.
Caimi was the person who called 911 the night Pool was killed. He and Acers claimed they were out walking when they heard Pool's dogs barking and when they went to investigate, they discovered his body. Neither a gun nor casing were found in the vehicle, nor any evidence to suggest the gunshot was self-inflicted, according to investigators. A bullet was later recovered in the dashboard of the vehicle.
A palm print was also collected off the inside of the driver side window. That was later determined to be Acers' print, a police booking affidavit states.
But when questioned, "Chelsea continued to deny knowing what happened to Bobby and claimed she had nothing to do with Bobby's death. Detectives confronted Chelsea and explained there was forensic evidence that contradicted what she was telling us. Chelsea denied ever being in Bobby's van and continued to claim she didn't know what happened the night Bobby was murdered," the affidavit states.
Earlier this year, on Jan. 4, Caimi was arrested in Colorado on a federal warrant for firearms charges. At that time, Acers agreed to be interviewed again.
"Chelsea took a deep breath and began recounting what happened Oct. 8, 2022. Chelsea stated they went to Chase's parents' house and they had Chase's kids and had a movie night. Chelsea explained they had been drinking a lot. Chelsea said 'alcohol is a huge part of our life,'" according to the affidavit.
During the night, Caimi and Acers learned there was an ongoing dispute about Pool's dogs. "Chelsea told us jokes were then made … about 'taking out the trash.' Chelsea explained they then returned to the Okelberry truck yard where they were living and things were really blurry due to being intoxicated, but recalled Chase telling her he was going to 'shoot Bobby,'" according to the affidavit.
She then described how they walked up to Pool's van and Caimi shot Pool, the affidavit alleges. They then went back to the parents' home and continued to drink.
During the January interview, "Chelsea stated she was finally clean and how it had been a long road with lots of 'damage.' It should be noted Chelsea knew facts about the crime scene, such as how many shots had been fired, that no one would know unless they were present during the time the crime was committed," according to the affidavit. "Chelsea admitted in the interview she had lied all through the previous interviews and was there the night Bobby was murdered. Chelsea's lies hindered and delayed detectives' investigation."
A few days later, Springville police paid for Acers to be flown back to Utah where she agreed to help them look for the missing gun used to shoot Pool. However, she eventually said she could not remember the exact location of where the gun was disposed.
