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West Jordan • A 28-year-old Utah man accused of killing two men, one of them his uncle, inside a Sandy garage was sentenced to prison on Tuesday.

Alexander Leroy Vasquez pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and one felony discharge of a firearm charge in connection with the 2012 deaths of Paul Giovale and the defendant's uncle, Simon Vasquez.

On Tuesday, Alexander Vasquez was sentenced to spend up to 40 years in the Utah State Prison, after 3rd District Judge Bruce Lubeck ordered that the manslaughter charges run consecutive to one another, while the firearm charge was ordered to run concurrent.

The judge told the defendant that it was clear to him that there was wrong-doing from all parties and that "no one was thinking well."

Lubeck appeared to struggle with what sentence to order, at times pausing for long periods before saying that he would "never be at ease" with his sentencing decision.

"I don't think you are a monster who deserves to be in prison for the rest of his life and never see the light of day and all that," Lubeck said. "But I do know that two people have lost their lives and you have some role in that."

Witnesses testified in 2013 that Alexander Vasquez held several people, including Giovale, Cindy James and his uncle, at gunpoint on Aug. 5, 2012, in the garage of a home near 100 E. 8600 South.

At some point, charges state and witnesses testified, Giovale pulled out a gun and Alexander Vasquez returned fire. Cindy James and Simon Vasquez were hit in the crossfire.

Giovale, 41, died at the scene. Simon Vasquez, 40, was transported to a hospital, where he died nine days later. James was injured but recovered.

Defense attorney David Mack told the judge on Tuesday that though his client took responsibility for his uncle's death, the bullet that struck Simon Vasquez didn't come from Alexander Vasquez's gun.

"This all started with the theft of drugs and money from some pretty high-power drug dealers," Mack said. "And in an attempt to take heat away from his family or resolve the situation, Mr. Alex Vasquez became involved in that situation."

Alexander Vasquez apologized on Tuesday, but said he didn't believe it was fair that he spend more than 20 years or the rest of his life in prison.

"I am very sorry about my uncle, Paul Giovani, and all of that," Vasquez said. "There's not much more to be said. People are gone and I understand that, but my life is on the line, as well."

The defendant said he was trying to protect his family that day, and said that if he "knew more about the law," he might have acted differently.

Mack asked that the charges run concurrent to one another, saying that most of the shots fired inside that garage came from Giovale's gun. The defense attorney added that Alexander Vasquez had a rough childhood, a history of family mental illness and a lack of support as he grew up.

"He did not have an equal opportunity to succeed in life," Mack said.

Prosecutor Josh Player asked for consecutive sentencing for the manslaughter cases, saying that choices should have consequences.

"Many poor choices were made," Player said. "Not all by this defendant. But those poor choices led to the death of two people."

June Price, Simon Vasquez's mother, said she hopes the defendant begins to learn from his mistakes after years of being in trouble with the law. Court papers indicate that Alexander Vasquez was arrested for the first time for a felony offense when he was 7 years old, and he is currently in prison on an unrelated case.

"He hasn't learned nothing yet," Price said. "If he wanted to change his life and have a good life, there are people who are in worse situations than him [who are] growing up."