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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man was charged Friday with shooting and killing another man in retaliation for the victim accidentally shooting his brother in the hand.
Jima William Gat, 31, is charged in 3rd District Court with murder and two counts of shooting a gun causing serious injury, first-degree felonies; and obstruction, a second-degree felony.
On Aug. 5, three men, including Gat, were hanging out at an apartment near 1600 West and 1700 South when the trio went to a convenience store to buy more beer. Once there, they ran into 41-year-old Andrew Mozart Maka, who one of the men had met a week earlier. All four men then returned to the apartment, according to charging documents.
"They were sitting at the table drinking beer when Andrew pulled out a gun, removed the magazine, and was showing off the gun," the charges state.
Maka was told to put the gun away. But when he put the magazine back in the gun and set it on the table, the gun accidentally went off and struck Gat's brother in the hand, according to the charges.
"Gat became upset, snatched up the gun, and shot Andrew," according to the charges.
Related:
Man causes accidental shooting, is shot and killed by injured person's brother, police say
A 31-year-old man was arrested Friday in connection with a Glendale homicide case earlier this week.An autopsy determined that Maka was shot twice in the neck, once in the chest and once in his hand. After the shooting, Gat allegedly threw the gun into the Jordan River.
According to prosecutors, Gat's history of violence includes a conviction for attempted murder in Oregon in 2010. In 2016, he was arrested in West Virginia for investigation of being a felon in possession of a gun, the charges state.
