The alleged triggerman and an accomplice in a Memorial Day drive-by shooting in North Redwood have each been charged with two counts of attempted murder, a second-degree felony, and four counts of aggravated assault.
Clinton Dimell Randle, 19, and Arick Ron Davenport, 20, were charged in 3rd Circuit Court on Thursday in connection with the May 27 shooting outside a Maverik convenience store and McDonald's restaurant near 700 North and Redwood Road that injured one man.Randle is in the Salt Lake County Jail, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Davenport, who has a history of criminal activity, including drug possession and weapons offenses, according to court documents.
Bail has been set at $250,000 for both men.
Two other individuals, Savon Carter, 21, and Jamel Townsend, 19, are also being sought by police for their role in the shooting that prosecutors say was fueled by an ongoing gang war between rival black and Latino factions.
Celestino Torrez was struck in the neck with a bullet and a 20-year-old male passenger escaped injury in the Memorial Day hail of gunfire. Salt Lake police officers located 29 casings at the scene, and four vehicles - including one with 13 bullet holes - were also hit and damaged, according to charges.
Both victims told police they were leaving the gas station when a Toyota Supra with four black male occupants approached and "the right front passenger leaned out of the car and repeatedly shot" at their direction with a semi-automatic assault weapon.
Torrez, the apparent target and an alleged Latino gang member, was discharged from a local hospital Sunday. His left arm may be permanently paralyzed from the incident, charges state.
Prior to the shooting, prosecutors say Davenport was in the Toyota with the other three men when they saw Torrez and the other man and recognized them as rival gang members.
Documents say Torrez then began to follow the four men. Davenport and his group decided to lose the other car, but then "a decision was made to return and fire upon the victims. Randle then got the gun . . . and as Carter drove the vehicle, Randle shot at the car."
Several other bystanders at the gas station and restaurant could have also been seriously injured, as several witnesses told investigators what happened to them.
One man "leaned over on top of his 3-year-old nephew . . . to protect him," charges say. Another "was seated in his grandfather's automobile . . . when he heard and felt a bullet hit the vehicle." And a man sitting in his car near the gas pumps heard gunshots, and later discovered his vehicle had been hit once with a slug.
Randle and Davenport are subject to enhanced penalties in the crimes because they were allegedly committed in conjunction with two or more persons.