- Two men were arrested in Wyoming after a fatal shooting in Salt Lake City.
- Chino Aguilar, 21, and Carlos Chee, 22, each face a murder charge for the incident.
- The victim allegedly asked them to leave following a drug deal, police report.
SALT LAKE CITY — Two men arrested near Rock Springs, Wyoming, in connection with a shooting death inside a Salt Lake hotel had been asked by the victim to leave the room he was renting following a drug deal, according to police.
Arrest warrants were issued Monday afternoon for Chino Aguilar, 21, and Carlos Chee, 22, for murder, a first-degree felony.
The shooting was reported about 6:40 a.m. Monday inside a room at the SpringHill Suites, 625 S. 300 West. Responding officers found a deceased man inside one of the rooms. A woman, who police say was "walking away from the scene," was stopped and questioned. She said her friend, 32-year-old Christian Lee, had just been shot.
"(She) told officers that Carlos had come to the hotel where she and Lee had been staying and Carlos had agreed to bring some marijuana to the hotel," the warrant states.
Chee arrived at the hotel with Aguilar, but for a reason still being investigated as of Tuesday, only Chee went to the room with the woman, according to police. She told police that Chee "was acting very paranoid and had not slept in several days. She said that (Chee) had a gun and the other male then shot Lee and they both fled the scene," according to the warrant.
After the shooting, detectives learned that Aguilar contacted his parents in New Mexico "and confessed that he had just shot a man in Salt Lake City over a drug deal. (Aguilar) allegedly told his parents the man tried to grab his gun and he subsequently shot the male," the warrant states.
In a subsequent interview, the witness told police that Lee had rented two rooms at the hotel and was allowing the woman to use one of them. She then invited Chee over, but Lee "then wanted her and the male (Chee) to leave," according to the warrant.
When Lee went to the room to kick the woman and Chee out, there was a confrontation between Lee and Chee. That's when Aguilar allegedly showed up and Lee was shot in the head, the warrant says.
Aguilar and Chee fled in a Toyota Camry with a Texas license plate. They were located just outside of Rock Springs a few hours later.
"Carlos Chee and Chino Aguilar were both taken into custody by the Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office and are currently being detained," the warrant states.
Arrest warrants were filed in 3rd District Court on Monday to begin the process of extraditing Chee and Aguilar back to Utah.
