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A loud revving sound drew residents along a block of Park Creeke Lane in South Salt Lake to a horrifying scene outside their homes.

An SUV was stopped in the middle of the street with three young men inside at about 8 p.m. Feb. 18. One was behind the wheel with his foot pressed to the gas pedal and was convulsing as blood dripped from the back of his head, while another was curled in the fetal position in the cargo area and appeared lifeless, neighborhood resident John Vigil said.

And the third man was on the floor in the back seat, screaming and moaning, he said.

"He was in a lot of pain," Vigil testified Monday at a preliminary hearing in 3rd District Court for a 20-year-old Florida man accused of a triple homicide — a killing that now has two defendants.

Gerald R. Grant is charged with three counts of first-degree felony aggravated murder, first-degree felony aggravated robbery and second-degree felony obstructing justice in the shootings.

Prosecutors believe the shootings were the result of a drug rip-off that turned deadly, according to charging documents.

The victims were 20-year-old Angel Lopez-Salinas, who was in the driver's seat; his 19-year-old brother, Lauro Lopez-Salinas, who was in the back seat; and 17-year-old Armando Cuenca-Curiel, who was in the cargo area.

The three were found in Lauro Lopez-Salinas' SUV in the road at 325 E. Park Creeke Lane (3060 South). Cuenca-Curiel had a gunshot wound in his side and died at the scene. The brothers, who each had been shot in the head, died later at a local hospital.

Grant was shot in the leg that night and taken to a local hospital by two friends.

Joshua Kirk, who was visiting friends that night who live in the area, said he thought someone was having engine trouble and went up to the SUV.

"I could see the driver had been shot," he said. "I could see blood on the back of his head."

He also saw Lauro Lopez-Salinas in the back seat and called to both brothers but got no response, Kirk said.

Then he saw a man in a yard farther down the street, who appeared to be talking on a phone, Kirk said. He and Vigil testified that a car pulled up to the man as he was walking down the street.

Vigil said the man, who was limping, argued with the car's occupants, but Vigil couldn't make out the words. Kirk said there appeared to be some "back and forth" among the man and a few individuals who got out of the car.

Then someone in the group said something like, "They're all dead. Let's get the f—- out of here," and the car pulled away, Kirk testified.

According to charging documents, Grant told one of the friends who picked him up at the shooting site — Mahad Abdirashid Omar — that the three men had tried to rob him and shot him, so he shot back in self-defense, according to charging documents.

Omar had told police that on Feb. 18, Grant asked him about getting some marijuana, and Omar said he arranged for Grant to meet a contact in South Salt Lake, according to charges.

Omar, 21, was charged in June with second-degree felony obstructing justice for allegedly aiding Grant and for not reporting what he knew about the shootings.

But on Friday — based on recently acquired text communications between Omar and Grant — prosecutors amended the charges against Omar, adding three counts of first-degree felony murder and one count of aggravated robbery.

Charging documents state that Grant had texted Omar earlier on Feb. 18 saying he had robbed a man for a few hundred dollars the night before and asking Omar to set up another "plan," charges state.

Omar allegedly set up the buy and then texted Grant, "Bring the 9ner we got work now."

Police say a "9ner" is another term for a 9mm handgun. Court records say a 9mm Ruger was found near the scene of the shootings.

But defense attorneys say in a court document that a man — who knew the victims and described himself as being best friends with Lauro Lopez-Salinas — told police that Cuenca-Curiel previously was robbed by Grant or people connected to him and that the trio intended to rob Grant in retaliation.

According to the court document, the man said his information came directly from Lauro Lopez-Salinas, who allegedly said he and the others didn't intend to kill Grant, but Cuenca-Curiel was going to beat Grant if he didn't give up the money. Lopez-Salinas said they were going to take brass knuckles "to this retaliatory robbery," the man told police.

South Salt Lake Police Officer Andy Pham testified Monday that brass knuckles were found on the front seat of the SUV.

Twitter: @PamelaMansonSLC