- Daniel Lopez-Santiago was sentenced to two terms of one to 15 years in prison for a 2023 Kearns shooting.
- He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a weapon by a restricted person.
- The court recommended deportation after he completes his prison term.
KEARNS — A man who shot and killed a Kearns man during a financial dispute in 2023 has been sentenced to prison.
Daniel Lopez-Santiago, 21, of Mexico, was charged in November 2023 with murder, a first-degree felony, plus obstruction of justice and possession of a gun by a restricted person, second-degree felonies.
In September, he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and possession of a weapon by a restricted person, second-degree felonies, as part of a plea deal. In exchange, the obstruction charge was dismissed.
He was sentenced Monday to two concurrent terms of one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison. The court recommended he be deported after completing his sentence. Prosecutors said Lopez-Santiago is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, and is in the United States illegally.
Unified police arrived at 4057 W. 4990 South on Sept. 3, 2023, and discovered that Vincente Peralta-Figueroa, 25, had been shot and killed in a detached garage on the property.
Police say Lopez-Santiago and Peralta-Figueroa started arguing on the night of the shooting about money owed. Lopez-Santiago confronted the victim about the money in the garage of Peralta-Figueroa's residence. After being gone for a while, Elmer Areiga Hernandez, who also lived in the home, went to check on them.
"He saw Vicente and Lopez-Santiago arguing loudly. Elmer then saw Lopez-Santiago shoot Vicente once with a handgun. While still holding the handgun, Lopez-Santiago ran toward (Areiga) and demanded he take him home or else," the charges state.
After the shooting, investigators say Lopez-Santiago sold his gun to a neighbor.
When investigators attempted to question Areiga, he "changed his story multiple times," according to charging documents, and "has actively tried to impede the investigation." He was charged with obstruction of justice but was found not guilty by a jury in October 2024. He was kept in custody as a material witness for Lopez-Santiago's case, according to court documents.
In a plea statement, Lopez-Santiago said he "used a firearm, recklessly causing the death of Vicente Peralta-Figueroa and was at that time a Category 1 restricted person."
