This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Police have arrested two suspects in Friday's fatal shooting in west Salt Lake City, a slaying blamed on an apparent drug deal gone bad.
Salt Lake City police Detective Cody Lougy said one of the men, 29-year-old Austin James Herring, turned himself in late Sunday night in Bluffdale after "seeing [photos of] his car all over the news." Acting on information obtained from Herring, police then arrested 31-year-old Richard Michael Warner early Monday morning in West Valley City.
Lougy said that while the pair were in custody, the investigation was ongoing. He could not confirm whether a firearm, possibly the murder weapon, had been recovered.
Specifics about how the suspected drug deal unraveled into deadly violence also were not immediately available on Monday.
Detectives say the incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Friday shortly after a gold-colored, four-door Mazda, believed driven by Herring, stopped in the 500 West block of 200 South. Witnesses said Herring and his passenger, Warner, got out to talk with the victim, whose name still was being withheld Monday by police.
Lougy said detectives were having difficulty locating the man's next of kin. However, police did confirm the victim was a Latino in his 30s.
"Both suspects began a discussion to purchase drugs with the male victim, who was standing on the sidewalk. Once the arrangement was made, Herring got into the driver's side of his vehicle and Warner remained outside the rear passenger's door of the vehicle," Lougy said.
That was when Warner allegedly pulled a handgun and shot the victim. Warner then jumped into the car and he and Herring sped away.
Both suspects were booked into the Salt Lake County Jail, where they were being held Monday without bail on suspicion of criminal homicide.
Utah court records did not reveal anything beyond past misdemeanor and civil matters for either man.
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