- Two gang members were charged in South Salt Lake shooting injuring three individuals.
- Carmelo Sorroza Noriega faces multiple felonies; Damien Marco Flores is listed as a co-defendant.
- Noriega linked to January shooting; police request no bail due to violence risk.
SOUTH SALT LAKE — Two men, both documented gang members, have been charged in connection with a shooting at a South Salt Lake party that injured three people.
One of the men is already facing charges in connection with a separate shooting in January.
Carmelo Sorroza Noriega, 20, of Midvale, was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with three counts of shooting a gun and causing injury, two first-degree felonies and a second-degree felony; two counts of aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, a second-degree felony; plus aggravated assault, three counts of illegally firing a gun, and witness tampering, all third-degree felonies.
Damien Marco Flores, 18, who was arrested about a week after the shooting for investigation of three counts of aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, three counts of shooting a gun and causing injury and theft, is listed as a co-defendant in court documents. As of midday Thursday, formal charges had not been filed against him.
About 2:45 a.m. on Feb. 8, South Salt Lake responded to a shooting in the courtyard of Royal Garden Terrace, 251 E. Royal Garden Terrace. Two 18-year-old men and a 16-year-old boy were taken to area hospitals to be treated for their injuries. Two of the victims were shot twice, while the 16-year-old was shot once in the arm, the charges state.
"Witnesses on scene reported the firearm used in the shooting had a blue or purple laser attachment and observed the laser beam on the victims before the shooting. Witnesses reported hearing, 'Spaz calm down' before the shooting occurred," according to charging documents.
Detectives identified Noriega as the shooter after learning that the six casings collected at the scene matched those collected by Unified police investigating a shooting on Jan. 4, the charges state. In that incident, Noriega is accused of firing a shot in the air during a confrontation at a birthday party in Midvale. No injuries were reported.
Police found a connection between the two shootings on Feb. 17, and Noriega was charged on Feb. 24 with illegal discharge of a gun, aggravated assault and obstruction of justice, third-degree felonies; and threatening to use a weapon during a fight, a class A misdemeanor, for the January incident. The gun police say was used in both shootings had not been found as of Thursday.
South Salt Lake police searched Noriega's phone after the three victims were shot in their city and found "text messages where Noriega brags about the shooting, tells someone he almost died, that people challenged him and he stood up to them and proceeds to talk about how he needs to lay low," the charges allege.
Police also note that Noriega's handle on one of his social media accounts is "Spazz."
"There is a clear pattern of behavior showing Noriega's propensity to violence," prosecutors wrote in the court documents while requesting that he be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail pending trial.
