- Mauricio Hernandez was ordered to serve probation, given credit for time in jail for firing a shot that shattered someone's elbow in Murray.
- Third District Judge Amber Mettler said he is lucky that no one was killed.
- Hernandez was one of three men with similar sentences who prosecutors say fired shots at an arranged drug deal.
SALT LAKE CITY — A judge told Mauricio Hernandez he was very lucky that nobody was killed after Hernandez and two others planned to turn a drug deal into a robbery that ended with all three firing shots.
"You're really lucky that you're not dead," 3rd District Judge Amber Mettler said, calling it an "absolute miracle."
She sentenced Hernandez, 19, to a term of zero to five years in prison for aggravated assault, a third-degree felony, but suspended the prison time and ordered him to serve 36 months of probation and 300 days in jail. She gave him credit for the more than 300 days he had already spent in jail.
Another gun charge while on probation, Mettler warned, would leave her no choice but to send him to prison. She also ordered him to have no contact with the other two men involved, who have each also been sentenced, saying that includes through social media.
Orlonzo Dominic Segura arranged to buy a THC vape cartridge on April 1, 2025, and hid behind a dumpster with two friends, including Hernandez. When the car arrived, he approached and then pulled out a firearm, according to charging documents. Then, the others ran toward the car with firearms as well.
After a short exchange, shots were fired into the vehicle. The driver was shot in the arm.
Salt Lake County deputy district attorney Kenneth Grigg said although all three men fired shots, Hernandez was the one who shot the victim.
"They came out here on that night to rob these folks," Grigg told the judge. "It is absolutely frightening what happened."
The prosecutors said this case changed a man's life, and encouraged Mettler to look at this case differently than the other two defendants because Hernandez fired the shot that hit. He said the injured man is a painter, and despite two surgeries, he still doesn't know whether he will be able to paint again as he used to.
Mettler asked about the lighter plea deal offered to Hernandez, compared to the other two individuals involved, and Grigg said that was because he was progressing in jail.
"I would say that he's been given the credit already," Grigg said, asking for more time in jail.
Defense attorney Heidi Buchi said Grigg was a "different person" when she met him about 300 days ago after charges were filed. She said he wants to be someone people can look up to as someone who made it out. Shes said he has support from his family and has been taking courses.
"As awful as the circumstances were that brought him here, I do think this is an intervention that is going to have very much of a silver lining," she said.
In his statement, Hernandez told the judge that he acknowledged he hurt someone and that he is "truly sorry."
"This is not who I am at heart. ... I want to start making the right choices so that I never hurt anyone or come back to jail," he said.
Jordan Sathia Leitner, 19, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, a second-degree felony, and was sentenced on April 30 to one to 15 years in prison. His prison sentence was suspended in favor of 288 days in jail, which he had already served, and four years of probation.
Segura, also 19, was sentenced on Feb. 6 to one to 15 years in prison for aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, a second-degree felony. That sentence was also suspended and he was ordered to serve 300 days in jail, with credit for the 185 he had already served, and four years of probation.
All three men pleaded guilty as part of a plea deal that dismissed charges for aggravated robbery, two counts of felony discharge of a firearm and aggravated assault.
