As the court papers tell it, David Fresques was in the living room when he opened fire on Omar Paul Jarman and Shontay Nichole Young, killing them.
Fresques then went upstairs, shot and killed Danielle Beatrice Lucero, and then shot Vickie Myers in a separate bedroom, court papers add. Myers survived.
Prosecutors on Friday charged the 25-year-old Fresques — who was arrested in mid-February — with three counts of aggravated murder and a count of attempted aggravated murder.
All of the charges carry a prison sentence of five years to life, and prosecutors could seek the death penalty for each count of aggravated murder.
According to court documents, Fresques lived in Midvale only a few blocks from where he allegedly shot and killed the victims on Feb. 12. According to a jail probable-cause statement, Fresques — an ex-con known by the street moniker "Twisted" — arrived at 8286 S. Adams St. (450 West), which Unified Police Department described as a known drug house, got into an altercation with "one of his associates." Neither police nor documents have stated what sparked the altercation.
A witness told police that Fresques pulled a gun and started shooting.
Officers found Myers, 53, with a gunshot wound to her shoulder. She was taken to Intermountain Medical Center in serious condition and was released Feb. 15. Jarman, 35, Young, 34, and Lucero, 26, died at the scene.
Police nabbed Fresques on Feb. 13 after the stolen pickup truck he was driving collided with a parked car near 3700 South and 300 East. Police are still looking for a second man they suspect was involved. Police believe that Davis Romney Fotu, 33, of Riverton, was at the scene of the shootings, and they’re asking for the public’s help to find him.
"We’ve gotten a few [tips], but they’ve kind of dwindled," said Unified police Lt. Justin Hoyal on Friday. Hoyal urged anyone with information about this case to call UPD at 801-743-5851.
Salt Lake City police had the most recent run-in with Fotu — who is also an ex-convict — after they were called Feb. 9 to Colonial Village Motel, 1530 S. Main St. in Salt Lake City, after the motel manager asked Fotu and another man to leave the property, as they did not have a room there.
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The trio briefly exchanged words, then Fotu and the other man, who hasn’t been identified, began punching the manager in the face and body. They knocked him to the ground and began kicking him and stomping on his head, according to charging documents filed Friday in 3rd District Court.
During the assault, police allege Fotu pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the manager’s face.
Fotu was arrested that day but bailed out of jail Feb. 11 — the day before the three homicides occurred.
He was charged Feb. 15 with third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault and retaliation against a witness, victim or informant.
Fresques has a long criminal record. He was sent to Utah State Prison in 2008 for robbery and was paroled in July 2010 but was returned to prison on a parole violation. He was most recently paroled in November, according to prison authorities.
Four other people who had been in the home during the shooting — Jose Fernando Garcia, 38, two other males and a female — were uninjured. Residents Garcia and Esther Arrendondo were facing eviction from the home, according court records. The survivors identified Fresques after police showed them a photo lineup, the statement says.
The shooting victims also have had trouble with the law.
On the day of the shooting, Lucero was charged by Salt Lake County prosecutors with third-degree felony unlawful possession of another’s identification and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor. Court documents state that Lucero and another man were inside a car using heroin in West Valley City earlier this month and that Lucero had identification cards belonging to four other women.
Utah court records for Young show that she had pleaded guilty to a handful of misdemeanors, including attempted forgery, shoplifting and disorderly conduct between 2006 and 2010, but had no cases pending.
Jarman’s criminal record dates back to 1999, and in addition to a number of traffic violations, domestic violence and child-support issues, includes felony drug possession and distribution counts.
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