DRAPER — Police say an argument over a car and other property may have cost a woman her life.
Juan Carlos Diaz-Arevalo, 25, was tracked down and arrested Tuesday for investigation of homicide Tuesday morning in connection with the shooting death of 23-year-old Lindsey Fawson Monday evening.
Fawson was in her car when she was shot in the head with a sawed-off shotgun in front of her son who was sitting in the back seat, said Draper police Sgt. Scott Peck.
After the shooting, police believe Diaz-Arevalo ran to the nearby Jordan River Bottoms where he hid all night. Tuesday morning, three women reported to South Jordan police that they spotted a suspicious individual along the Jordan Parkway they thought may be connected to the homicide they saw on the news, Peck said.
A motor patrol officer for Draper carefully combed the streets near the parkway Tuesday and on his second or third sweep of the area about 10 a.m. he spotted a man out of the corner of his eye who tried to hide behind some bushes as he drove by, Peck said.
When the officer circled around the man was gone. Extra officers and police K9's were called to surround the area. A man was eventually spotted hiding in some bushes in the back yard of a house near 9300 South and 1300 West.
A K9 named "Vader" from Midvale police was sent into the bushes to apprehend the man who was not complying with officers' orders to surrender.
During the struggle with the K9, a single shot was fired from the man's shotgun that he was carrying, Peck said.
"We believe he either shot it at the dog or (the gun) went off (by accident) when the dog went in to get him," he said.
No one was injured in the arrest.
Jefferson Edwards was sleeping inside his house when Diaz-Arevalo was arrested in his yard.
"I heard a bunch of sirens. Then I heard dogs barking. Then I saw a cop with a rifle and he said, 'Stay inside your house,' " Edwards said. "I never thought I'd see my house on the news for this."
Jody Bangerter, who lives in the house next to Edwards, said she and her sister heard the shotgun blast but initially thought it was something else until her neighbor called and asked what was happening. Bangerter said that's when she stepped outside.
"I saw these SWAT guys with big guns and they said to get back in our house right now," she said. "We looked out the window and saw guns pointed our direction."
Bangerter, her sister and their children went into the basement for safety until the incident was over.
Diaz-Arevalo was taken into custody with his hands wrapped in bags, possibly to protect potential gun residue evidence from the blast, as he was taken to police headquarters for questioning.
Monday night, Fawson and Diaz-Arevalo both showed up separately at the house of a common acquaintance near 12200 South 700 West, Peck said. Fawson had her two children, ages 3 and 5, with her. One child had already gotten out of the car and gone inside the house where Fawson's sister was when Diaz-Arevalo and Fawson began arguing, Peck said.
The two had been involved in a prior relationship and were apparently arguing over who owned what property after their breakup, Peck said.
Diaz-Arevalo was wanted by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs for aggravated re-entry into the United States after already being deported once before.
An arrest warrant has also been issued locally for him March 31 out of 3rd District Court on drug-related charges, according to court records.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com