Jury selection was underway Monday afternoon in a murder trial for one of two men accused in the 2012 fatal shooting of a Poplar Grove neighborhood smoke shop clerk.
Salt Lake County prosecutors contend Yelfis Sosa-Hurtado shot and killed 26-year-old Stephen Guadalupe Chavez, after a confrontation at CJ's Smoke Shop, 876 W. 800 South. Opening arguments in the case are set for Tuesday,
Sosa-Hurtado, 28, is charged with one count of first-degree felony aggravated murder, for which the punishment is either a prison term of 25 years to life, or life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is also charged with nine counts of third-degree felony discharge of a weapon.
A pool of 70 potential jurors was called and attorneys were questioning candidates individually. Opening statements in the case are expected Tuesday morning, Marc Mathis, a deputy district attorney for Salt Lake County said.
The trial in Salt Lake City's 3rd District court is expected to last five days. Jurors are expected to hear from Chavez's father, shop owner Isabel Chavez, who testified at an October 2012 preliminary hearing that he watched as his son was shot at close range and that he held his son in his arms as he bled.
Court papers say Sosa-Hurtado and the younger Chavez traded heated words and a few punches on the night of March 14, 2012, after Sosa-Hurtado refused to move his parked car at Isabel Chavez's request and treated the elder man with disrespect.
Sosa-Hurtado left after the scuffle, but returned less than an hour later with an assault rifle, threatening to kill Stephen Chavez, who was standing behind the counter, court papers say. With the first shot, Stephen Chavez dove to the floor. Prosecutors say Sosa -Hurtado then leaned over the counter and shot the shop-owner's son twice in the torso. Sosa-Hurtado also fired nine additional shots as he backed out of the store. He fled the scene in a Honda Civic driven by another man.
Prosecutors have charged Vladimir Suarez-Campos, 40, the alleged getaway driver with first-degree felony murder. Suarez-Campos also faces nine counts of felony discharge of a firearm. A pretrial hearing for Suarez-Campos is set for Nov. 10.
A witness list filed with the court by prosecutors indicates they also intend to call Suarez-Campos to testify against Sosa-Hurtado.
jdobner@sltrib.com
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