- Guillermo Herrera, 23, was found guilty of murder for a shooting at a 2021 Midvale wedding.
- Herrera, associated with the Dogtown gang, killed Oscar Avila Jr. at his parents' wedding.
- Sentencing is on Oct. 20; Herrera has prior convictions, and other defendants await trial.
SALT LAKE CITY — A man was found guilty of killing the son of a newly married couple at their wedding, nearly four years after the crime.
According to the charges, Guillermo William Herrera, 23, and two others who are associated with the Dogtown gang crashed a wedding on Nov. 6, 2021, at the Ganesh Center, 145 E. Fort Union Blvd. They were confronted and ordered to leave; once outside, two of them pulled out guns.
The married couple's son, Oscar Avila Jr., rushed toward Herrera. According to a press release from the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, Avila fell to the ground, and Herrera then fired a single shot. Avila, 28, died at the scene.
Herrera was found guilty of murder, a first-degree felony; possession of a firearm as a restricted person, a second-degree felony; and obstructing justice, a third-degree felony.
Jurors heard evidence in the case over a three-day trial before reaching a guilty verdict on Friday.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill thanked the prosecutors and their staff, along with detectives, for their work on the case that led to the conviction, in a statement on Monday.
"Weddings are meant to be a time of celebration for all those in attendance, and instead the defendant decided to turn this one into a tragedy. Our hearts go out to the family of Mr. Avila and hope that this conviction helps them start to heal from the devastation of his death. This office will aggressively pursue those that make our community less safe with gun violence," he said.
Herrera is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 20.
He was previously sentenced to two concurrent terms of zero to five years in prison for his role in a 2020 Magna shooting that left a man paralyzed. In that case, Herrera pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and felony discharge of a firearm, both third-degree felonies.
Herrera has also been charged twice with possession of a controlled substance in a correctional facility, and was charged with assault by a prisoner, a third-degree felony, on July 30.
Two others charged as co-defendants in the 2021 shooting — Daniel Brando Garcia, 26, and Troy Latorio Kajiyama, 23 — have not yet gone to trial. Garcia pleaded not guilty on May 16, 2022, to possession of a dangerous weapon as a restricted person and obstructing justice, both second-degree felonies, and is scheduled for his next hearing on Nov. 17.
Kajiyama's next hearing is set for Oct. 6. He pleaded not guilty to possession of a dangerous weapon as a restricted person and obstructing justice, both second-degree felonies, on June 27, 2022.
A charge for obstruction of justice against a fourth individual, Marqus Paul James, was dismissed by prosecutors.
