This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Following a deadly shootout and car crash in downtown Salt Lake City', a mob of street people allegedly stripped the victim of weapons and other belongings before police could arrive.
Now, Salt Lake City police Detective Greg Wilking said, investigators are asking for the public's help in retrieving the firearms believed used in the 7:30 a.m. Sunday homicide.
Killed was Jesse Ray Rakes, 30, after he allegedly tried to rob another man in a botched drug ripoff. Police found his body lying on a sidewalk at 550 W. 300 South, an area where many transients routinely set up camp, near shelters and services for the homeless.
Rakes apparently had been ejected from his car as it rolled, coming to rest on its roof after colliding with another vehicle.
Detectives were trying to determine if the shots were fired before, during or after the crash.
Rakes and two other men — Michael Polk, 34, and Matthew Eyre, 35 — were trying to rob Daniel Simon, 25, when the shooting occurred, police said.
Simon was booked in Salt Lake County jail on possession of a firearm by a restricted person. Police said the case will be screened for a possible homicide charge.
Polk and Eyre were booked for aggravated robbery, and a woman with Simon, 25-year-old Natanni Xoumphonphackdy, was booked for obstruction, police said.
However, the disappearance of the guns from the scene was making the investigation difficult.
Witnesses told police that up to 30 people flooded the crash site in the moments before officers arrived, carrying off numerous items — including firearms.
"Having those weapons is important for the investigation, but also we just don't need any more guns out there on the streets," Wilking said.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the weapons is asked to call SLCPD at 801-799-3000, or anonymously text 274637 using the keyword "TIPSLCPD ."
Twitter: @remims