Teen charged in shootout that injured 2 in West Valley City

WEST VALLEY CITY — A 16-year-old boy is facing charges in juvenile court tied to a shootout in West Valley City that injured two people inside a car during an illegal gun sale.

The teen was charged in 3rd District Juvenile Court with aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; three counts of being a restricted person in possession of a weapon and discharge of a firearm causing injury, second-degree felonies; plus obstructing justice and aggravated kidnapping, third-degree felonies.

On Feb. 12, police responded to a report of shots fired near 3860 Burningham Drive (2100 West). All parties had left the scene before police arrived. But officers soon learned that two people had been shot. One was found outside Taylorsville Elementary School and the other at Granger Medical Center.

The 16-year-old boy was with a 19-year-old gunshot victim at the school. That victim had been shot in the chest and hand. While an officer was tending to the injured man, the 16-year-old picked up his coat and a gun fell out, according to charging documents.

The teen was taken to the West Valley Police Department for questioning. He "had blood on his shoes, jeans, jacket and hands," the charges state. While the teen was left alone in a secure interview room, being monitored by security cameras, he "began using tissues and trying to clean blood from his hands and shoes." An officer entered the room and told him to stop, but the teen "got down on all fours and began placing his palms down on the carpet and began vigorously rubbing his palms on the carpet several times."

Detectives also scoured the area where the shooting occurred for doorbell or surveillance video. They found footage showing a Honda with three males inside — including the 16-year-old who was driving — parked behind an Oldsmobile with two males inside, according to court documents.

The second gunshot victim, an 18-year-old man, told police he had arranged to buy a gun from someone on Instagram. He brought a friend with him, "just in case, like, something does happen," he told investigators, according to the charges. Those two arrived in the Oldsmobile.

The man is seen in the video getting out of the Oldsmobile and getting into the front passenger seat of the Honda. After he gave the 16-year-old money, the teen locked the doors to the Honda and told the others in the back seat to shoot the man, the charges allege. The man saw someone point a gun at his head and a fight ensued. The man was shot before he was able to get out of the Honda.

The other man in the Oldsmobile later told detectives when he "saw that the Honda was rocking back and forth," he got out of the Oldsmobile, went up to the Honda and fired shots into the rear passenger seat, according to the charges.

"A search of the Honda yielded three firearms, four fired casings, marijuana, loose cash and several unspent rounds. Ammunition found inside the Honda matched the caliber of unspent bullets recovered from (the 16-year-old)," the charges state. In addition, the Honda was riddled with multiple bullet holes and blood in the back seat.

The incident prompted several schools, including Taylorsville Elementary, to go "under secure protocol" as a precaution per the Granite School District while police investigated the shooting. Both police and school officials say the schools were not involved.

The 16-year-old was also charged in November, when he was 15, in a separate case with theft by receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony; failing to stop for police, a third-degree felony; marijuana possession and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor; and not having a driver's license yet, an infraction.

In that case, the teen was spotted by Taylorsville police in a stolen Toyota Tundra that fled from officers and crashed into a parked minivan.

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