SALT LAKE CITY — In a surprising turn of events involving the shooting death of a Salt Lake man Thursday night, police arrested his wife and two men believed to have known the victim.
Juan Jose Rubio-Navaro, 32, was waiting outside his home at 545 N. New Star Drive (1785 West) for co-workers to pick him up to give him a ride to his job as a carpenter in Tooele, when a man wearing a hoodie drove by and fired multiple shots at him, said Salt Lake City police detective Dennis McGowan.
"The bullets were directed toward the male, not the house," McGowan said.
Rubio-Navaro was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife and two young children, ages 5 and 3, were inside the house at the time. They were not injured, McGowan said.
Police later arrested the victim's wife, Marta Campuzano, for investigation of obstructing justice, believing that she "withheld information" from police regarding the shooting, said Salt Lake City Lt. Melody Gray.
Two Salt Lake-area men, who police say came from the same city in Mexico as the victim and knew the family, were arrested for investigation of criminal homicide.
Police had been interviewing 26-year-old Jose Adrian Rodriguez Ramirez after receiving an anonymous tip about the Glendale man. SWAT officers surrounded his home at 1011 S. Emery St. Thursday afternoon. Ramirez was taken into custody for questioning while police worked at getting a search warrant for the home and for a blue Nissan that police believe was the attacker's vehicle.
Police wouldn't release information about what specifically led to Ramirez's arrest.
Ramirez's roommate, Jose Alan Gallegos Mendoza, was also arrested for investigation of criminal homicide. Police believe the 24-year-old Mendoza was with Ramirez at the time of the shooting.
Police said it's unknown what motivated the shooting.
The victim's brother-in-law, Salvador Campuzano, works with Ramirez part time for a landscaping company and said Ramirez would often pick him up for work. He said Ramirez and Rubio-Navaro knew each other but never fought, to his knowledge.
"It is really weird to me. I hope the cops get to the bottom of it," Campuzano said, adding that he couldn't believe Ramirez would hurt anyone, let alone shoot Rubio-Navaro.
Campuzano said the victim's children are fine for now. They are with his family, unaware that their mother has been arrested and that their father will never be coming home.
"The truth. I don't want to let them know. I'm not the right person," Campuzano said. "Their mom, my sister, is. (But) she's not there right now."
Rubio-Navaro's family members described him as a "happy person" who loved his family. They don't understand what has led to the victim's violent death and the recent arrests.
Neighbor Kyle Rowley was nearby when the shooting occurred and said he heard multiple shots fired and ran outside to find Rubio-Navaro lying on the sidewalk, unconscious and not breathing. Minutes later, police arrived. As Rowley returned to his house, Rubio-Navaro's co-workers arrived.
"Just a matter of minutes," Rowley said. "Just minutes after he was shot, they arrived."
Investigators initially said they believed the shooter was driving by himself and fired through the passenger-side window, which was down. After the shooting, the vehicle sped away.
Several witnesses gave inconsistent descriptions of the vehicle, McGowan said. Police later located the suspect vehicle at 400 S. Post St. (940 West) Thursday afternoon and impounded the vehicle after obtaining a search warrant for it.
Police don't believe the shooting was gang- or drug-related. A check of Utah state court records did not show any prior criminal history for Rubio-Navaro or for either of the arrested men.
When the tip came for Ramirez's house in Glendale, police surrounded the home and cordoned off multiple blocks in the area. Ramirez gave himself up almost immediately, but police believed another person may have been hiding in the home.
A search of the house turned up no one, but police continued searching the home for any evidence. No neighbors were forced to leave, but police did evacuate children involved in an after-school program at the nearby Parkview Elementary School.
Leslie Vos, who lives next door to the searched home, said she saw a man come out of the house with his hands behind his back earlier Wednesday but that she didn't recognize him as her neighbor.
SWAT team members were in her backyard and across the street waiting for "a while" until they received permission and were able to go inside the home.
The shooting has rattled even longtime residents who live near the victim. A neighbor said she has lived in the neighborhood for 20 years but now wants to move as soon as she's able.
"We've had shootings around here before, but this — it's way too close to home," said the woman, who did not want her name used.
While police are a familiar sight in the neighborhood, the woman said she never noticed suspicious activity at Rubio-Navaro's house.
Rowley agreed, saying the shooting was a surprise to him.
"Not that house, not now," he said. "They always seemed like a nice, quiet family."
e-mail: lgroves@desnews.com; preavy@desnews.com; jsmith@desnews.com