PROVO — Two people have been arrested in connection with the death of a man found shot in the head on the front porch of his home earlier this month.
The arrests happened late Monday and early Tuesday.
Darrell Wayne Morris, 38, was arrested at a West Valley hotel. Police described him as a transient. Yuri Lara, 32, of Orem, was arrested during a traffic stop in Provo. The traffic stop was not random, said Provo Police Capt. Jerry Harper.
Andy Wendell Purcell, 32, was found shot on the front porch of his Provo home, 541 S. 300 East, on the morning of May 16. He suffered a single gunshot wound to the head. No weapon was found at the scene.
Provo police released limited information about the arrests. Harper said he still could not discuss a possible motive and declined to say whether additional arrests were possible.
Utah state court records show Morris has an extensive criminal history.
He was charged in 3rd District Court in March with theft and forgery related crimes and had a warrant issued for his arrest for failing to appear in court on May 12.
He was convicted of similar forgery and theft charges in January. A warrant for that case was issued in April for failing to appear for sentencing.
Morris took a plea in abeyance in February on drug-related charges in a separate case, and had another warrant issued for his arrest on Friday for failing to pay restitution.
In 2006, Morris was sentenced to prison following several forgery and drug-related convictions in Carbon County.
Lara was charged in March in Utah County with several felony drug- and firearm-related crimes.
The arrests of Morris and Lara were made in conjunction with the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force, West Valley police and the Metro Gang Unit.
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