SALT LAKE CITY — A West Jordan man received a reduced sentence for a manslaughter conviction after admitting to shooting and killing his friend in March 2024.
Anthony Sanchez, 30, was given a prison term of zero to five years in the Utah State Prison after the severity of his conviction for manslaughter was reduced from a second-degree felony to a third-degree felony as a result of a plea deal.
Charging documents say Anthony Sanchez was watching TV with Dylan Douglas Miller-Mettome in March 2024 when Sanchez did something funny, and Miller-Mettome took out his phone. Sanchez said he pulled out a gun to be funny, not knowing it was loaded, pointed it at his friend and fired.
According to charges, Sanchez called 911, administered aid while waiting for emergency services to arrive and reported to police there was no fight or argument. Miller-Mettome, 27, later died from his injury at a hospital.
As part of his plea, which also dismissed multiple charges, both attorneys agreed to suggest that Sanchez be sentenced to a third-degree felony, following a Utah law that allows a judge to lower the degree of an offense based on the circumstances of the office, character and history of the defendant and victims' comments, and concludes the original degree "would be unduly harsh."
In addition to agreeing with the attorneys to reduce the severity, Judge Elizabeth Hruby-Mills suspended the prison sentence in favor of 180 days in jail and three years of probation. Sanchez was sentenced on Friday and was committed to jail to serve the reduced sentence.
His attorney, Mark Moffat, had argued at the preliminary hearing that the shooting was an accident and that manslaughter was not an appropriate charge.
