KEARNS — An 18-year-old man was arrested Wednesday and accused of firing several rounds into a Kearns house occupied by children and an elderly adult.
Investigators believe the shots were intended for the house of a man who was the driver of a car involved in a fatal crash last year that killed the gunman’s sister, according to a police booking affidavit. But police say the gunman shot the wrong house.
Angel Medina was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of possession of a firearm by a restricted person and five counts of felony discharge of a firearm.
On Sept. 9, Medina and a teenager approached a residence near 5500 West and 5100 South and shot at the house multiple times, according to the affidavit.
“The residence was occupied by multiple children and an elderly adult. Several bullet holes were found on the exterior wall of the residence, of those, a few entered the house and went through interior walls,” the affidavit states.
After the shooting, a neighbor approached the victims and stated he knew who did it.
“The neighbor has been receiving threats from the alleged suspects due to a car accident in which the alleged suspect’s sister was killed,” the affidavit states. “The neighbor also stated he recently contacted the police regarding these threats. I was able to find the case number and found threats to include lighting up the house. Lighting up is gang slang for shooting up.”
Police say the crash happened in 2019 in West Jordan. A girl who was just a few days away from turning 15 was killed.
Several home surveillance cameras recorded the shooting. The teen who police say as with Medina is a “well-known” gang member, according to police. On Thursday, Unified police served a warrant on the teen’s house and took him in for questioning. That led investigators to Medina, also a documented gang member, who was taken into custody after another warrant was served Wednesday night, according to the affidavit.