Arguments that escalated into gunfire kept Salt Lake County deputies busy Thursday night and early Friday morning.
In an hour and a half deputies investigated three shootings. One appeared to be gang-related while the other two were domestic disputes, said Salt Lake County sheriff's office spokesman Sgt. Jim Potter.Only one person was seriously injured in the gun fights, Potter said. Brandon Veralardo, age unavailable, is in serious condition at University Hospital. He was shot in the face with a 9mm handgun when an exchange of gang signs erupted into gunfire.
Investigators said a group of five teens was driving west on 3900 South near 400 West about 12:20 a.m. when they were confronted by a trio of youths in another car, prompting gang signs and curses.
"It was your typical `I'm tougher than you' situation between the occupants of the two vehicles," said Salt Lake County sheriff's Lt. Jay Southam. Southam said the van turned north on 700 West, where it was passed by the car. One of the occupants of the car shot three times at the van, hitting one youth in the face.
The blasts awoke several residents living in the Timber Creek Apartments bordering 700 West near 3870 South.
"I was sleeping in my room that faces the street when I heard the shots," said one man who asked not to be identified. "I looked out my window and saw the van veer into the apartment complex parking lot. Then I saw kids jump out and scatter. One of the kids ran to the complex courtyard holding his hands to his face. He was bleeding pretty bad."
Veralardo collapsed in the courtyard in front of several residents. He was later flown to the University Medical Center in serious condition.
Meanwhile, investigators questioned the victim's friends and other witnesses. They combed the area in an unsuccessful search for the other vehicle and juveniles.
"We're following our suspect leads and hopefully the occupants of the van will be cooperative. Sometimes these kids are more concerned with planning retaliation than working with us," said Southam.
The shooting spooked apartment tenants who say the area has been peppered with crime in recent months.
"This is it, I'm out of here," said resident Loran Terrell. "We've had to deal with lots of things being stolen, there was a shooting earlier near these apartments and now this. It's time to move on."
A few minutes after shots rang out in the Millcreek area, a man was arrested for firing a rifle through a front door where his ex-wife's fiance and a friend stood.
Potter said the man who was arrested had been calling his ex-wife and her fiance earlier in the evening and allegedly threatening them. The woman's fiance decided to go talk to the ex-husband and try to work things out between them, Potter said.
When the man and his friend knocked on the door, the man inside shot through the closed door. The armed ex-husband then held the other two men at gunpoint until a deputy arrived, Potter said.
The man who fired the shot was arrested and booked for investigation of aggravated assault.
About 1:38 a.m. another domestic problem resulted in a knife fight and gunfire in another Millcreek neighborhood.
A woman's car broke down near 212 E. Helm Avenue (3545 South). She called a male friend to come and help her repair her car, Potter said.
"Her estranged husband comes by and gets angry," Potter said. The victims told police the man was very drunk and verbally abusive.
"The man (the male friend) asked the husband to leave, and he (the husband) pulls a knife out," Potter said. The husband swung at the man several times and then went to his pickup truck and returned with a .44-caliber percussion revolver, Potter said.
"He aimed the gun point-blank at the victim (the male friend) and pulled the trigger twice," Potter said. "The gun didn't go off."
The man ran, and as he did, the husband fired another shot, which missed the woman's friend. The husband and the man began to wrestle for the gun, and then for the knife, Potter said. Eventually, the husband left in his truck, and deputies arrived.
Potter said deputies searched for the man and his truck for several hours last night but didn't find him. The woman and her friend were not hurt.