19-year-old sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for drive-by killing in Murray

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Raoul Bedoang, 19, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for a Murray drive-by murder.
Bedoang pleaded guilty to murder and firearm discharge, dismissing 16 other charges.
He'll serve in juvenile care until 25, then transfer to an adult correctional facility.

SALT LAKE CITY — A teenager was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for injuring four people and killing another in a drive-by shooting.

Raoul Bedoang, 19, admitted to acting with "depraved indifference to human life" and shooting in the direction of another person, killing one person and paralyzing another, according to a plea statement filed in September.

Bedoang, a documented gang member, pleaded guilty to murder and felony discharge of a firearm resulting in serious bodily injury, both first-degree felonies. His plea deal dismissed 16 additional counts of felony discharge of a firearm — three first-degree felonies, one second-degree felony and 12 third-degree felonies — and retaliation against a witness or victim, a third-degree felony.

For each charge, he was sentenced on Oct. 29 to 15 years to life in prison, despite Utah statute recommending only five years to life for the firearm charge. Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills also ordered the terms to be served consecutively, meaning Bedoang will serve at least 30 years in prison.

The court ordered that Bedoang would serve his term in the "secure care of the Division of Juvenile Justice Services" until he is 25 years old, when he will be transferred to the Department of Corrections, unless the department decides to transfer him sooner.

Bedoang was also ordered to pay more than $10,500 in restitution to the victims.

On May 30, 2024, Abdiaziz Abdirahman, 21, was shot multiple times by someone driving a car near the Fireclay Avenue and Birkhill Boulevard intersection. Abdirahman later died at a local hospital from his injuries.

At the same time, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the back, causing paralysis, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the hand, and a fourth victim suffered a "minor shrapnel wound to the back," charges said.

Charges said each of the victims belonged to the same street gang. They said investigators identified a Chrysler passing the victims about 7 p.m. on the day of the shooting, turning and passing by one more time as individuals on the street dropped to the ground or moved away.

Investigators tracked down the registered owner of the car and questioned him. He claimed Bedoang, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, wanted to find a group of people who were looking for him, "because he wanted to play basketball with them," the charges say.

The car owner claimed that when Bedoang saw the group, he rolled down the window and fired multiple rounds at them and then told everyone in the car to stay quiet, "or else," according to the charges. The owner also claimed he did not know the other teens in the back seat because "they were all wearing black clothing with black ski-mask-like masks on their heads."

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