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Farmington • A trial was ordered Wednesday for a woman who was involved in the first of a series of carjackings that ultimately led to a car crash that killed a 21-year-old Farmington woman in February.
Michelle Jenifer Vigil, 22, is charged in 2nd District Court with first-degree felony aggravated robbery, accused of carjacking a woman alongside 27-year-old Anthony Santos Cruz.
Snippets of phone calls that Vigil made after her arrest for the Feb. 1 carjacking and subsequent crash that killed Jazmyn Jeppson were played in court Wednesday.
In the recordings, Vigil laments to her sister about the hefty charge she was facing for her role in stealing a Mazda 6 from a woman on Mutton Hollow Drive, in Kaysville, and claims it was Cruz who threatened the driver with a knife, not her.
"I was kind of bait, though, if you know what I mean," the woman told her sister.
Vigil also spoke with her sister about Jeppson, and her sister assured her she shouldn't feel bad about the 21-year-old's death.
"I feel bad for my homie, Anthony," Vigil replied.
At about 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 1, the Mazda 6 driver called 911 and reported that her car had been stolen by a man and a woman who had run up to her vehicle.
"They pulled a knife on me and told me to get out of my car," the emotional woman told a dispatcher. "… She told me he was trying to attack her. She ran up and grabbed my door."
The two suspects drove away, but the Mazda 6 broke down a few minutes later on the freeway in Centerville, according to court records. Cruz allegedly attempted to steal a second car, but that carjacking failed.
A few minutes later, a Unified Police officer on his way to work drove up to the apparently stalled Mazda, which was stopped on southbound Interstate 15 near Lund Lane in Centerville. The officer was initially unaware that the Mazda was stolen.
A man and a woman, later identified as Cruz and Vigil, were outside of the car when the UPD officer stopped; they told him they had run out of gas. The suspicious officer contacted dispatchers and learned the vehicle had been carjacked moments before, according to court records.
Vigil allegedly tried to flee on foot as Cruz purportedly ran to a nearby black Volkswagen and, after the driver jumped out, sped away southbound on Interstate 15.
The fatal crash occurred moments later, when Cruz took the Parrish Lane exit, went through the intersection of the offramp and Parrish Lane and struck Jeppson's car, which was traveling east, according to police.
Cruz has been charged with first-degree felony murder and three counts of first-degree felony aggravated robbery. He is expected in court on April 8
After hearing testimony concerning Vigil on Wednesday, Judge Michael Allphin ordered her to stand trial on the single charge. She will be back in court on April 13 for an arraignment.