A fight between two friends over money led to one man fatally shooting the other and then abandoning his body in a parking lot in another city, according to police.
The investigation began Tuesday when a passerby found the victim, Steve Bailey, 38, of Roy, in a parking lot in the 3200 block of Orchard Avenue, according to a statement released Thursday by Roy police. Originally police said the investigation began Monday.
“Upon their arrival they discovered an obviously deceased male in a vehicle. The position, location and condition of the body in the vehicle appeared suspicious, but no cause of death could be determined at the time,” police said.
Initially, emergency crews were called because it was believed the man may have suffered a medical condition. An autopsy conducted Wednesday, however, “determined that this person was likely a victim of a homicide,” according to police.
It was determined Bailey suffered a single gunshot wound to the head, said Roy Police Sgt. Matthew Gwynn.
As police from several agencies investigated the incident, they learned that Bailey had had an argument with a friend, Daniel Johnson, 48, of Roy, on Saturday night at Johnson’s home over a “financial disagreement.”
There were three children between the ages of 9 and 15 in the house at the time of the shooting, according to investigators.
After allegedly shooting his friend, Johnson is accused of then putting Bailey in Bailey’s car and driving him to the parking lot in Ogden where he was later found.
“Daniel Lee Johnson shot and killed the victim, placed his body in a car and concealed it in an obscure place. Johnson never contacted the police nor did he seek medical attention for the victim. Johnson is a drug user who was in possession of a firearm,” a police affidavit states.
Johnson was arrested for investigation of murder, desecration of a dead body, obstructing justice and possession of a firearm by a restricted person.