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A Salt Lake City man has been charged with manslaughter for allegedly killing a man last month after breaking into his own apartment to expel unwanted guests.
Leroy Daniel Valdez, 34, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with the second-degree felony homicide count in connection with the Nov. 26 shooting death of 33-year-old Kenonran Quentin Goodman.
Valdez also is charged with third-degree felony obstructing justice for allegedly hiding the gun.
He is being held at the Salt Lake County jail in lieu of $500,000 bail, cash-only. No court dates were immediately set
At about 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 26, Valdez broke into his own apartment, near 1300 North Redwood Road, intent on forcing an unspecified number of unwanted occupants to leave, charges state.
Valdez later told police that his roommate had been having people over "and he didn't like them there," charges state.
Armed with a .40-caliber pistol, Valdez first kicked at the ground-level window to his roommate's bedroom, and when the window broke Valdez heard his roommate scream, charges state.
Valdez then went to the front door and kicked it in.
As Valdez entered the apartment, he said he was grabbed by a man larger then himself. Valdez told police that when he tried to push the man off of him with both hands, the gun in his right hand went off, and the man fell to the floor, charges state.
Valdez ran to a neighboring apartment complex, where he placed the gun under the seat of a vehicle, charges state. He later turned himself in to police.
When officers arrived at the apartment, they found Goodman dead from a gunshot wound to the head. Police said Wednesday that Goodman did not reside at the apartment.
During a search of Valdez's clothing, police allegedly found a small baggie containing a crystal like substance, which Valdez said was methamphetamine, but which was not field-tested at the time. No drug-related charges were filed against Valdez on Wednesday.
Third District Court records show Goodman had been sentenced to a 1-year suspended jail term on Oct. 6 after pleading guilty to a reduced count of class A misdemeanor assault.
Valdez's previous court record contains little more than a misdemeanor drug possession charge.