This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Ogden police are trying to unravel what led to an early Monday morning argument that left a man dead in the street from a shotgun blast to the chest.
About 4 a.m. Monday witnesses reported hearing two men arguing in the area of 29th Street and Childs Avenue, followed by multiple gunshots.
Neighbors reportedly found William Patrick Hicks, 32, lying dead on the asphalt, in a pool of his own blood.
Ogden Police Lt. Danielle Croyle said that evidence recovered at the scene, and in subsequent interviews and through search warrants, "solidified" the connection between the shooting and their suspect, 30-year-old Andrew Dominic Esquer, who was arrested Monday evening.
Croyle confirmed that the shotgun believed used in the slaying was recovered, but police declined to release other details about the shooting or the arrest, noting the case remained under investigation.
Both the victim and the suspect have criminal records, but until now, those rap sheets included nothing major.
Utah court records show Hicks' record included misdemeanor counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, public intoxication, as well having a vicious and unlicensed dog, and interfering with an arresting officer.
In 2009, Esquer was charged with third-degree felony and misdemeanor counts relating to alleged credit card fraud in Utah, but those charges were dismissed. San Diego (Calif.) County Jail records also note a Esquer's 2012 arrest on a misdemeanor theft count.
On Tuesday, Esquer was being held without bail in the Weber County jail on suspicion of first-degree felony murder and second-degree felony obstruction of justice counts.
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