A teenager who allegedly handed the gun to the killer of a mother of five children will be tried for murder, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Third Circuit Judge Stephen Henriod ordered Jose N. Armenta-Corrales, 17, to stand trial for the Feb. 3 death of Diane Purper.Armenta-Corrales faces one count of murder, a first-degree felony. The young man could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.
Purper, 36, was driving home with her nephew about 1:30 a.m. when she was shot during a brief traffic altercation on the 500 South onramp to I-15.
Witnesses at the preliminary hearing for Armenta-Corrales on Wednesday testified another man, Manuelillo Valenzuela, fired six bullets at Purper as he drove his car past her car.
But Armenta-Corrales handed the gun to Valenzuela when he asked for it, two witnesses testified. Under Utah law, that alleged action makes the teen as responsible for Purper's death as the trigger man.
Jamie Prescott, 18, who was riding in Valenzuela's car during the shooting, testified Valenzuela was angry before he fired the gun.
She said the incident started when Valenzuela pulled up behind Purper's car, a Dodge Stealth, at a green light on 200 West. Purper wasn't moving, so Valenzuela honked his horn.
Instead of driving away, Purper's passenger, her nephew Fred Jensen, got out of the car and shouted at Valenzuela, Prescott testified. "He was shouting, `F------ wetbacks!' " she said.
Jensen then got back into the car and Purper turned west onto the onramp. Valenzuela followed behind but slowed down because Purper was pushing on her brakes repeatedly, Prescott said.
As the two cars drove up the onramp, Valenzuela asked Armenta-Corrales for the gun, saying, "I want to kill that b----." Armenta-Corrales hesitated, Prescott said, but handed the gun over anyway.
Valenzuela then loaded a clip into the handgun, shoved Prescott down, opened her window using controls on his door, and fired, Prescott testified.
One bullet struck Purper in her left back, passed through her spinal column and into her abdomen. Another hit her left thigh.
The bullet that pierced her back was the fatal shot, said Assistant State Medical Examiner Maureen Frikke.
Defense attorney David Mack said Armenta-Corrales tried to stop Valenzuela before he pulled the trigger by grabbing his arm and shouting, "No! Don't shoot! It's a woman."
But Valenzuela, who has since fled to Mexico, ignored the yelling. Two other juveniles, including a 12-year-old boy, were in the car at the time of the shooting and are expected to testify at trial.
Armento-Corrales will be arraigned April 29 before 3rd District Judge Sandra Peuler. A $1 million warrant for Valenzuela's arrest has been issued.