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SALT LAKE CITY — Two Salt Lake men have admitted to murdering a 16-year-old boy in a stabbing on a Salt Lake sidewalk six years ago.
Enrique "Ramon" Deloza, 33, and Nicolas "Chucky" Nazario Espana, 34, pleaded guilty on Feb. 26 to murder and obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies.
Marcellino Johnson was walking with three other teenagers on Aug. 27, 2018, with two 13-year-old girls walking ahead of Johnson and a 15-year-old boy, when Deloza and Espana walked by.
The girls told the boys the two men had "attempted to persuade the girls" to go with them, and when the boys ran into the men, a fight began, according to charging documents.
The fight ended and the groups separated, but near 75 East and 1530 South, Espana came out of an alley and threw a rock at Johnson, beginning the fight again. Espana called to Deloza for help and at some point while Deloza was on top of Johnson, a knife was introduced and Johnson was stabbed three times in the face and abdomen, the charges say.
Police said Deloza had asked Espana for his knife.
The murder charges for both Espana and Deloza were reduced from a first-degree felony as part of a plea deal, and a charge of possession of a dangerous weapon as a restricted person, a third-degree felony, was dismissed for both men.
The plea cited an Utah statute allowing prosecutors to classify crimes one degree lower if the attorney believes the sentence would be disproportionate or there are special circumstances.
Espana is scheduled to be sentenced April 15, and Deloza is scheduled to be sentenced April 29.
The maximum punishment for each of the second-degree felonies is a prison term of one to 15 years.
