One chapter in a decade-old murder of a 17-year-old boy came to a close Friday when the shooter, Williams Rodriguez, was sentenced to prison by a judge who said she doubted Rodriguez's claim that he never meant to kill.
Third District Judge Leslie Lewis sentenced Rodriguez to five-years-to-life in prison for first-degree felony murder for shooting teenager Arian Huerta to death during a drug robbery gone wrong on Nov. 1, 1995. Rodriguez, now 28, also shot and seriously injured another young man.
Prosecutors had planned to bring other charges including attempted murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, but the statute of limitations has run out.
Rodriguez, who was 18 at the time, expressed regret for Huerta's death in court Friday. He said his older gang friends gave him, the youngest of the three, a gun when they went to the apartment to steal drugs.
"I don't know why — it just happened," Rodriguez told the judge. "I didn't do it with the purpose of shooting anyone."
"When you pull a trigger, what do you think will happen?" Lewis responded. "Despite your tears and your remorse, you escaped responsibility for 10 years. I hate to say it, but I think you knew precisely what you were doing."
The murder victim, Huerta, and another young man, Everardo Camorlinga, "were partly house-sitting, partly living" in the apartment rented by a man who dealt drugs who had them stashed elsewhere, according to prosecutor Fred Burmester, who spoke outside the courtroom later.
The dealer was gone and Huerta and Camorlinga were waiting for a pizza delivery when three men burst into the apartment and a fight broke out.
Huerta was shot dead and Camorlinga was shot and injured but survived and was able to tell police what happened.
The other two assailants have never been caught.
A woman, Patricia Bencomo, who prosecutors say knew something about the crime, is out on bail and may enter into a plea bargain.
Defense attorney Jose Loayza termed the case "tragic" and said it has haunted Rodriguez, who has been plagued by depression. Loayza underscored a "terrible combination of the stupidity of youth, bad friends and guns" as contributing factors in the crime.
In an unusual twist, prosecutor Burmester briefly spoke up for Rodriguez, citing the fact he went to great lengths to escape gang ties. Rodriguez moved to Missouri, started a family, worked as a grounds keeper at an LDS church, and from all appearances, has lived a law-abiding life.
Still, a 17-year-old boy was murdered and another badly injured, Burmester said. "They didn't deserve that."
Burmester singled out for recognition two Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office lawmen who kept the case going: Cord Skinner, who now works as a federal probation officer, and Ben Pender, a homicide detective.
E-mail: lindat@desnews.com