A 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the killings of two 17-year-olds at a Halloween party in West Valley City.
Yonis A. Muktar was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of conspiracy to commit murder.
On Oct. 31, a 17-year-old Javen Ryan “Bug” Welcher was shot and killed, and a 17-year-old girl was critically injured while standing outside a home hosting a Halloween party near 2600 West and 4000 South, according to police. The girl died a couple of days later. Her name has not been released.
As police investigated the shootings, detectives located a video on an Instagram account that was posted just after 1 a.m. on Nov. 1.
“In this video, (Muktar) is heard saying that ‘it takes me one word, one phone call just to get a guy killed,’” according to a police booking affidavit.
Police questioned Muktar twice. During his second interview, he “stated that he called the driver for help specifically. (Muktar) knew that by contacting his friends for assistance that it would result in the death of two individuals,” the affidavit alleges.
Detectives noted that “this is an active homicide investigation” and are calling a “gang-related case.”