An man accused of murder admitted he shot two men in the head at point-blank range June 19 while looking for a friend he believed had been harmed by his victims. He said his companion shot a third victim.
In interviews with detectives, Louis "Snoopy" Cruz, 19, said he and 26-year-old Alfredo "Oso" Sebastion armed themselves with guns on June 19 and knocked on the residence of three reported drug rivals at 242 W. North Temple, according to a search warrant filed in 3rd Circuit Court.Once inside, Cruz and his partner drew their weapons and stated they were looking for their friend "Primo." Cruz then followed one of the men to the basement to "look for the body of Primo," court documents said.
Satisfied that their missing friend was nowhere in the home, Cruz escorted the man back upstairs. Cruz said Sebastion hit the man in the back of the head with his gun and ordered him to lie face-down on the ground. Se-bas-tion then shot the man in the head, according to the search warrant.
After witnessing the slaying, Cruz told police that he "panicked" and shot one of the other men "two times in the head." He then trained his gun onto the third man seated on a sofa and fired two rounds, striking him in the head as well.
The suspects then fled the tattered duplex and jumped into a get-away car driven by Sebastion's girlfriend, who was waiting in front of the neighboring Covered Wagon Motel. Before leaving, Cruz tossed the weapon he used to shoot the two men into the bushes bordering the motel, according to court documents.
When the trio returned a few hours later to their apartment at 363 W. 500 North, Cruz "curled himself into a little ball" in his bedroom and began crying, his girlfriend told detectives. When she asked what was wrong, he reportedly admitted that he shot two men.
On June 21, police discovered the bodies of Roman N. Lojik, 22, Jorge Cruz, 24, and Cesar David Rivera, 23, in the duplex living room.
The two suspects were arrested a day later at their apartment and each charged with three counts of aggravated murder, which carries the death penalty.
Louis Cruz and Alfredo Sebastion remain behind bars at the Salt Lake County Jail.