Salt Lake City man sent to prison for killing man at Midvale wedding

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Guillermo William Herrera was sentenced to 15 years to life for a Midvale wedding murder.
Herrera was found guilty of murder, possession of a firearm, assault and obstructing justice.
His prison terms will be served consecutively to the term he is serving for a different shooting.

MIDVALE — A Salt Lake City man convicted of killing the son of a newly married couple at a Midvale wedding was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

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 Boulevard. According to the charges, 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. Herrera allegedly pistol-whipped Avila in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, and then shot Avila while he was still on the ground, according to the charges. Avila, 28, died at the scene.

Herrera was found guilty in August 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.

He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for the murder charge, to be served concurrently with one to 15 years for the obstruction of justice charge. For the aggravated assault, he was sentenced to zero to five years and for possession of a weapon as a restricted person, he received one to 15 years; those terms will be served consecutively to each other and to the murder term.

These prison terms will be served consecutively to his current commitments. Herrera 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.

"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 who make our community less safe with gun violence," Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said.

Daniel Brando Garcia, 26, and Troy Latorio Kajiyama, 23, were charged as co-defendants in the 2021 shooting. 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 pleaded guilty on Oct. 6 to possession of a dangerous weapon as a restricted person, a second-degree felony. His charge of obstructing justice, also a second-degree felony, was dismissed and he will be sentenced on Dec. 1. A charge for obstruction of justice against a fourth individual, Marqus Paul James, was dismissed by prosecutors.

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