2 charged with murder in decade-old drive-by case

2 charged with murder in decade-old drive-by case


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — Two men have been charged with murder in a drive-by killing that happened more than a decade ago.

Vincent James Thomas, 32, and Raymond Daniel Benally, 31, both were charged with first-degree murder Tuesday in 3rd District Court.

A warrant has been issued for Thomas' arrest. His address in Forrest City, Ark., is listed as unknown in charging documents.

Court records indicate Benally is currently serving out a 2007 sentence in the Utah State Prison after being convicted of attempted theft by receiving stolen property and discharging a firearm from a vehicle, among other charges.


Witnesses told police they saw a gray Chevy Celebrity following a Honda Accord near 300 East and 700 South on Sept. 28, 2001, before one of the men in the Celebrity fired at the Accord, charges state.

According to the charges, police believe Benally was the driver and Thomas the shooter in the 2001 murder of Leonel Perales.

Witnesses told police they saw a gray Chevy Celebrity following a Honda Accord near 300 East and 700 South on Sept. 28, 2001, before one of the men in the Celebrity fired at the Accord, charges state.

The Accord's back window had been shot out, and two holes were located where bullets entered the rear of the vehicle and passed through the rear seat. Perales died at LDS Hospital from a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the charges.

Six bullet casings from a .32 caliber handgun were located near the scene. The firearm that the state crime lab determined the shots were fired from was found Oct. 6, 2001, at 436 E. Van Ness Place, a residence Thomas was known to frequent, charges state.

The charges filed Tuesday did not elaborate how Thomas and Benally were linked to the crime more than 10 years later.

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
McKenzie Romero

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast