A 38-year-old man has died after he was shot in the head during a dispute over a cigarette last week, Salt Lake City police said.
The man killed in the Oct. 11 motel shooting was identified Monday as Nickolas Parks. A 60-year-old suspected shooter was later arrested, according to a news release.
A second suspect who police believe gave the shooter the gun he used and acted as the “getaway driver” has also been arrested, police said.
The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name suspects unless they have been charged with a crime. As of Monday morning, no charges had been filed.
At about 10 a.m. on Oct. 11, police responded to a report of a shooting at the Wasatch Inn at 1416 S. State Street. When officers arrived, they found the Parks in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the head, according to a probable cause statement.
Parks was “not conscious and not breathing,” the document states. He was taken to Intermountain Medical Center, where he underwent surgery but was “not expected to survive.” Police confirmed Parks’ death Monday.
Witnesses told detectives that Parks was involved in a “verbal dispute” with a woman and the suspected shooter “over a cigarette.” One witness told investigators that a 71-year-old man handed the 60-year-old a gun, and that the 60-year-old then shot the victim in the back of the head as he was walking away.
According to the probable cause statement, the 71-year-old first denied that he helped the 60-year-old, but “later admitted” he picked him up and gave him a ride after the shooting.
The 60-year-old was booked into the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of murder, obstruction of justice, possession and transfer of a danger weapon by a restricted person, possession and use of illegal drugs, trespass and several traffic charges, jail records and a probable cause statement show.
The 71-year-old was booked into the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of murder and obstruction of justice, records show. Both men are being held without bail.
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