Robbery victims make life tough for 2 bandits in S.L.
Two victims of unrelated robberies fought back Thursday morning, and one hapless man got caught for his trouble.In the first incident, a bandit walked into the Amoco Station at 1689 S. 1300 East at 6:30 a.m., and asked for a carton of cigarettes. When the male clerk grabbed the carton and placed it on the counter, the robber leaned over, flashed a knife and said he wanted all the money in the till as well.
Instead, the clerk brandished a "trusty" club and refused to part with the money, a Salt Lake police report said. The man grabbed the carton and fled north on foot.
In the second incident, a woman confronted in the parking lot of a Salt Lake hotel fought off her assailant. A report said she left the Residence Hotel, 285 W. 300 South, and was headed to her car when the altercation happened at 7:05 a.m. A man approached her, wanted to know if he could ask her a question and then grabbed at her car keys.
She fought back, pushing him away. He fled, but an arrest was made later by a Salt Lake police officer.
The man, 40, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of robbery, a second-degree felony.
Manslaughter conviction results in a prison sentence
The man who turned himself in to police and confessed to the fatal stabbing of a man at a Salvation Army cafeteria has been sentenced to a term of one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison.
Freddie Cortez-Olguin, 21, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, a second-degree felony, on Sept. 10. Prosecutors reduced the charge from murder, a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison.
Along with the prison term, 3rd District Judge J. Dennis Frederick ordered Cortez-Olguin to pay $4,000 restitution and $350 in extradition fees.
In May, Cortez-Olguin voluntarily entered a Denver police station and admitted to authorities he stabbed Christopher Gibbs six times in Salt Lake City on Oct. 13, 1996.
Cortez-Olguin was subsequently brought to Utah to face murder charges.
"He just walked in and said, 'I want to talk to somebody about a murder in Salt Lake City,' " prosecutor Ernie Jones said. "His description of what happened is very close. He either did it, or he was standing close to the person who did."
Jones said the slaying was apparently the result of an argument. Detectives never found the knife.
Gibbs was a transient, and authorities could not find any family members. Two other people were originally charged in connection with Gibbs' murder but were later cleared of any charges.
Driver of truck gets 6 months in '97 gang-related shooting
The driver of the truck involved in a gang-related shooting on State Street in August 1997 has been sentenced to six months in jail and three years probation.
Matthew Sellers, 21, pleaded guilty to one count of failure to stop at an officer's command, a third-degree felony, Aug. 30 in connection with the slaying of David Castillo, 27, and wounding of Salvador Velez. In exchange for Sellers' plea, prosecutors dropped one count of murder, a first-degree felony, and two counts of attempted murder, a second-degree felony.
Sellers was the driver of a black pickup truck from which a friend, Michael Anthony Figueroa, shot and killed Castillo as Sellers passed the bus stop where Castillo and some friends were standing on 900 S. State. Sellers and Figueroa fled the scene, and police chased the truck for about a half hour until it was stopped.
Figueroa, 19, was convicted in June of murder, a first-degree felony, and attempted murder, a second-degree felony. He is currently serving concurrent terms of five-years-to-life and one-to-15-years in the Utah State Prison.
Besides the six months in jail, 3rd District Judge Robert Hilder ordered Sellers be on six months of electronic monitoring after his release. Sellers must also complete 120 hours of community service by April 18, 2001.
Hilder could have sent Sellers to prison for up to five years but suspended that sentence, along with a $1,000 fine.
Faulty water-heater circuit ignites fire in 6-plex unit
An apartment fire forced the evacuation of a six-plex housing unit in the Timbercreek apartment complex, 3900 S. 700 West, Thursday night.
A woman living in building #2050 was taking a shower when sparks from a faulty electric circuit on her water heater ignited towels in a linen closet, South Salt Lake Fire Chief Steve Foote said.
The woman noticed something was wrong when the lights in the bathroom started flickering and she got out of the shower. She briefly attempted to put out the fire but was unsuccessful and had to flee her apartment wearing only a towel, Foote said.
"It's pretty fortunate she got out when she did. She could have been hurt or burned," he said.
Smoke wafted into the building's other apartments and some of them suffered smoke damage. The fire caused about $30,000 damage to the building. The woman had to be relocated to another apartment, Foote said.
Fire crews responded to the blaze at 5:54 p.m. and extinguished the blaze about 15 minutes later. However, crews stayed at the scene for more than three hours because they feared the fire had run into the attic. That was not the case, Foote said.