This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A man shot and wounded early Tuesday morning by Salt Lake City police after he brandished a gun was wanted on an active $15,000 bench warrant for missing his sentencing hearing last year on misdemeanor weapon and drug convictions.
Salvador Miranda Flores, 30, was in critical but stable condition at a hospital following a traffic stop that erupted in gunfire.
SLCPD Sgt. Robin Heiden said officers responded to a report of a suspicious white Chevrolet pickup truck cruising the area of a 7-Eleven store near 500 East and 1700 South, as if, the caller said, the occupants were "casing" the store for a possibly robbery.
Officers spotted the vehicle soon thereafter, pulling it over at 1125 S. State Street about 3:30 a.m.
Heiden said that when the driver, Flores, was asked to exit the pickup, he came out with a handgun. A confrontation with officers ensued and Flores was shot twice in the torso by officers.
Heiden said police found a second handgun in or near the truck in the aftermath of the shooting; it was not immediately known if Flores fired his weapon.
Flores was taken to University Hospital in critical condition, but doctors later reported his vital signs had been stabilized and he was expected to survive.
Heiden said she expected Flores would be hospitalized for a couple of weeks.
"We don't know what he was doing in the area, or what the motive was for why he puled the gun," she said.
A 28-year-old female passenger in the truck was arrested for outstanding warrants, not anything to do with events Tuesday morning, Heiden said.
Heiden said the officers were wearing body cameras and detectives would be reviewing the footage of the incident.
Flores pleaded guilty last year in 3rd District Court to reduced class A misdemeanor counts of possession of a dangerous weapons and possession of a controlled substance.
A $10,000 bench warrant was issued in the case after Flores missed an Aug. 11 sentencing date, according to court records.
He was booked into jail on Sept. 2, but bailed out.
A $15,000 warrant was issued after Flores missed a Sept. 15 bench warrant hearing.
The charges were filed following a March 11, 2014, traffic stop by Salt Lake City police for having no insurance, during which Flores was found in possession of a knife, syringes, Alprazolam pills and methamphetamine, according to charging documents.
Flores was considered a restricted person due to a 2009 conviction for third-degree felony aggravated assault, for which he was sentenced to probation, according to court records.
Flores also was wanted on a $1,750 warrant issued by a Salt Lake City justice court judge for an August domestic violence assault case in which the defendant missed a September court date.
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