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Two men have been charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a man and leaving him to die in West Jordan.
Victor Gambino Perez, 32, of Salt Lake City, and Raul Alejandro Abrego, 31, of West Valley City, are each charged with one count of attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, in the shooting of 31-year-old Manuel Herrera.
Charging documents say that on May 31 at about 10:50 a.m., officers responded to the area of 7800 South and 3800 West, where 31-year-old Manuel Herrera was lying in the road with gunshot wounds from at least four bullets, which went through both kidneys and his spleen.
The three men had stayed at his house the night before, a witness allegedly told police, and he had refused to let the men use his van or his truck. The three men left in Herrera's vehicle, a gray Dodge Magnum, according to charges, and several hours later, Perez called the man, asking him for a ride and telling him he needed a shower.
Herrera told officers that he knew the men and that they had tried to kill him by firing several shots in his direction, even after he hid behind something. Perez and Abrego wanted to use his car to rob people, Herrera told police. Herrera identified the men in a photo lineup, charges state.
Witnesses described seeing someone point a gun out the window of a gray Dodge Magnum before firing shots and driving away. Police located the vehicle, and surveillance video showed two people — who appeared to be Perez and Abrego — park the vehicle and then run away.
In the video, charges state, Abrego appears to be carrying a "white piece of material that appears to be covering an object with some weight to it." Another surveillance video shows Perez carrying the same white piece of material and depositing it in a bush, but a short time later, an unknown person approaches the bush as if looking for something, then leaves.
Police did not recover items from the bush, charges state.
Neither defendant is allowed to carry a firearm, due to previous convictions.
In addition to the attempted murder charge, the men each face two counts of discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury, a first-degree felony; one count of obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; and one count of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a second-degree felony.
Perez was being held in the Salt Lake County jail in lieu of $860,000 — $750,000 for this case, $10,000 in a 2009 theft case and $100,000 for an aggravated kidnapping and assault case filed last week. He has a history of mostly theft-related charges.
Perez is scheduled to appear in 3rd District Court for a scheduling conference June 20.
Abrego was being held in the Utah State Prison, awaiting a court date. His bail is set at $750,000 in this case. Court records show Abrego has a criminal history of mostly drug- and theft-related charges.
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