This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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 alleged gang-member has been charged with shooting and killing a Magna man outside the victim's home last year.
Joe Perez, 18, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony, for the death of Carlos L. Martinez, 40.
Perez — who was 17 years old at the time of the crime — was also charged with two counts of felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony; obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; and six counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony.
"The detectives worked really hard on this the past year," said Unified Police Lt. Justin Hoyal. "This is one of those examples of a case where we had very limited information when the case began… [but our detectives] worked tirelessly on this."
The night of May 4, 2014, a Unified Police officer responded to a shooting near 3800 S. Armoridge Drive (8180 West) and found Martinez bleeding profusely in front of his house, by the garage. Martinez was taken to Intermountain Medical Center and died.
A detective found nine spent 9mm shells north of the driveway, but police didn't have much information about the shooter.
"We had possibly two suspects in a gray car," Hoyal said. At the time, witnesses identified several different makes and models.
But police eventually identified Perez as one of two males who were allegedly in an argument with Martinez the day he died.
A witness saw Martinez in an argument that day with two males "regarding their gang representation in his neighborhood," according to the charges. The witness later saw Martinez and someone else arguing with the two males at another location, the charges add.
A second person said that "he and Perez are members of V1 — a subset of the Nortenos gang," according to the charges.
On May 4, 2014, Perez reportedly told the person that "he had gotten into an altercation with a male and wanted to retaliate," the charges add.
The person allegedly drove Perez and another male to Martinez's home. Martinez came out as Perez walked toward the home, according to the charge.
Perez allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot toward Martinez multiple times, the charges add. He then returned to the vehicle and they drove away.
Police suspect that Perez hid the gun in the vehicle and retrieved it the next day, the charges add.
When charged Wednesday, Perez was already in custody on an unrelated matter but he does not yet have a court appearance scheduled for the murder charge.
Perez has no prior criminal history in Utah, according to a search of court records.
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