SALT LAKE CITY — A preliminary hearing is underway for a man charged with aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of two young brothers and their friend earlier this year.
Meanwhile, a second person was charged Friday with murder in connection with the fatal shootings of Angel Lopez-Salinas, 20, and Lauro "Raul" Lopez-Salinas, 19, as well as their friend, Armando Cuenca-Curiel, 17.
Police say it was Gerald Radckiff Grant, 20, who shot and killed the men as he rode with them on Feb. 18 in a Ford Explorer. Grant, who was shot in the leg during the incident, has claimed he shot the men in self-defense after they tried to rob him, according to a search warrant affidavit.
Grant was charged in March with three counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. Prosecutors amended those charges Friday to include a count of aggravated robbery, a third-degree felony.
The Lopez-Salinas brothers and their friend were found shot in the SUV as the residents of Park Creek Lane in South Salt Lake rushed from their homes, hearing the vehicle's engine revving and smoking where it was stopped in the middle of the street. Those residents were among the first witnesses called as the four-day hearing began Monday.
"We thought there was just engine trouble," said Joshua Kirk, who was visiting a couple who live on the street. As they approached, however, he saw that "it was obvious it was a crime scene."
As he peered in the open back door, Kirk saw immediately that the convulsing driver had an obvious gunshot wound to the back of his head. Another person was slumped and moaning in a growing pool of blood on the floor of the back seat. Later, Kirk spotted a third figure lying motionless in the cargo area of the SUV.
"I was just yelling, 'Hey! Hey, can you hear me!' I wasn't getting any kind of response (from anyone)," he recalled.
Perry Hedgecock first saw the scene from his second-story bedroom window. His attention was drawn from the distressed Explorer when he spotted an illuminated cellphone screen of someone lying on his neighbor's front lawn.
As Hedgecock watched, he noticed that the young black man seemed injured, and he could be heard apparently giving directions to someone on the other line. When the man got up, he favored one leg as he moved down the street.
Hedgecock called 911 as he went downstairs and headed out onto the street where a white Hyundai Sonata had pulled up. He saw an individual who he believed was the driver help the injured man climb into the car
before driving off.
Attorneys were appointed during Monday's hearing for witnesses who crossed paths with Grant that night and could testify in the remaining days of the hearing.
One potential witness, Mahad Omar, had been ordered to stand trial for obstructing justice in the case, but prosecutors Friday also filed three murder charges against him, alleging Omar had arranged for Grant to purchase marijuana from Cuenca-Curiel, intending for the meeting to actually be a "lick," or a drug-related robbery.
Omar told police that Grant got into the Explorer with the three men at 283 E. 3300 South, and that he and another man, the owner of a Hyundai Sonata, intended to follow the SUV, charges state. They lost sight of the vehicle, however, and Grant called a few minutes later saying he had been shot and needed to be picked up.
When they picked up the wounded Grant, Omar said he told them he had pulled out his gun and one of the men in the SUV had shot him in the leg. Grant then shot all three of the men, Omar told police.
Court documents say Grant was taken to a local hospital more than two hours after the shootings. The owner of the Sonata wanted to distance himself from the night's events, so Grant's girlfriend eventually picked him up in a Mercedes and drove him to University Hospital in Salt Lake City, court documents say.
Police officers spoke with Grant at University Hospital, and he allegedly told them he was homeless and didn't have a cellphone.
Court documents say police discovered Grant's cellphone, at least one other mobile phone, blood and bandages in the Mercedes Grant's girlfriend used to transport him.
In the SUV, police reported finding a handgun, an airsoft rile, shell casings from multiple guns, a baggy of marijuana, multiple cellphones, brass knuckles and drug paraphernalia. The vehicle smelled like marijuana, the search warrant affidavit stated.
Charging documents say the driver, Angel Lopez-Salinas, suffered gunshot wounds to the head and right bicep. His younger brother, Raul, was shot in the head in the back seat. Cuenca-Curiel, found in the cargo area, was shot in the chest. He died at the scene, and the brothers died in the following days.
Email: mromero@deseretnews.com
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