Two men have been sentenced to prison after an attempted robbery last year in downtown Salt Lake City ended with a fatal shooting and a car crash.
The two men had been trying to rob Daniel Christopher Simon, who fatally shot a third would-be robber, 30-year-old Jesse Ray Rakes.
(Photo courtesy Salt Lake County jail) Two men were sentenced to prison after a botched robbery ended in a fatal shooting and a car crash. The victim of the attempted robbery, Daniel Christopher Simon was sentenced to time served for attempted possession of a weapon by a restricted person.
All three surviving men were charged in 3rd District Court in connection with the events on Aug. 28, 2016 near 500 West and 300 South.
But the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office declined to file homicide charges against Simon. Chief Deputy Attorney Blake Nakamura confirmed Tuesday that Simon shot Rakes in self-defense.
Simon, 26, was sentenced to time served, however, after pleading guilty to a reduced class A misdemeanor count of attempted possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person. He was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of a 2010 conviction for third-degree felony aggravated assault.
The other two men were charged with first-degree felony aggravated robbery.
A jury in October found one of the men, 36-year-old Matthew Gordon Eyre, guilty of one count of first-degree felony aggravated robbery. On Friday, Judge Royal Hansen sentenced him to 10 years to life in prison.
(Photo courtesy Salt Lake County jail) Two men were sentenced to prison after a botched robbery ended in a fatal shooting and a car crash. Matthew Eyre was sentenced to 10 years to life in prison for his involvement in the attempted robbery, which was thwarted by the victim shooting one of the would-be robbers.
In February, the other man, 35-year-old Michael Polk, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree felony aggravated assault. He was sentenced in May to concurrent prison terms of zero to five years.
(Photo courtesy Salt Lake County jail) Two men were sentenced to prison after a botched robbery ended in a fatal shooting and a car crash. Michael Polk was sentenced to two terms of zero to five years in prison for his involvement in the attempted robbery, which was thwarted by the victim shooting one of the would-be robbers.
Police arrived at the scene at 7:30 a.m. to find Rakes lying on a sidewalk at 550 West and 300 South next to an upside-down car.
(Photo courtesy Salt Lake County jail) Two men were sentenced to prison after a botched robbery ended in the victim fatally shooting one of the would-be robbers, Jesse Ray Rakes.
Rakes had approached Simon, falsely claiming his car battery had died and that he needed a jump, according to charging documents.
Actually, Rakes liked Simon’s car and wanted to take it, Eyre later told police.
When Simon drove his car over to provide a jump-start, Polk, Eyre and Rakes — who reportedly had a gun — tried to rob him.
A woman who was in Simon’s car handed him a gun. Rakes pulled his own gun, and Simon shot him in the hip.
Simon then got into his car and tried to drive away. But Polk, who had gotten back into the other car, and rammed it into Simon’s car. Polk’s car flipped, and Simon drove away.
Simon parked around the corner and “waited for the police to arrive,” according to a statement by his female companion. She passed the gun along to someone else, she later told police.
Polk and Eyre fled the robbery scene, and a mob of street people stripped Rakes of weapons and other belongings before officers could arrive, according to police.
After getting descriptions from witnesses of the people involved, officers spotted Polk and Eyre and arrested them.
Both Eyre and Polk are members of Aryan street gangs, according to charging documents. Eyre is a member of Silent Aryan Warriors, and Polk is a member of Soldiers of Aryan Culture.
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