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Two men have been charged with multiple felonies in connection with shooting up a Taylorsville home earlier this month, then leading police on a high-speed chase through neighborhoods on the east side of Salt Lake Valley.
Luis Miguel Valadez, 23, of Salt Lake City and Joseph Villagrana, 20, of Murray, are each charged in 3rd District Court with 17 counts of third-degree felony discharge of a weapon, one count of third-degree felony aggravated assault and one count of class A misdemeanor vehicle burglary.
Villigrana also is charged with one count of class A misdemeanor obstructing justice.
Valadez, the alleged driver, also is charged with one count of second-degree felony assault against a police officer, one count each of third-degree obstructing justice and failure to respond to an officer's signal to stop.
Scheduling hearings for both men are set for Aug. 8.
The crime spree began at about 4:30 a.m. when the two men fired at least 11 bullets shot at a home near 4800 South and 3400 West.
One bullet was found lodged in a mattress that a 2-year-old girl had been sleeping on. Investigators said a bullet missed her by inches. Three adults and three other children in the home also escaped injury, Bell said.
The residents, who never called 911, "claim not to know them and say they have no idea why anyone would want to shoot up their house," Unified Police Lt. Lex Bell has said.
Neighbors — who did call police — said they saw two men speed from the neighborhood in an older, white station wagon with a loud muffler — a car that police on patrol near 1400 East and 3900 South spotted about 20 minutes later, after hearing shots fired in that area.
Villagrana and Valadez, who allegedly was driving, fled after spotting police and led officers on a chase through city streets at speeds of up to 100 mph. Bell said the pair continued to try to avoid capture even after officers spiked their car's tires.
Valadez and Villagrana were finally stopped near 800 South and 900 East about 5:15 a.m., after an officer performed a PIT maneuver, which caused the suspects' car to spin out and stop. The driver then rammed the officer's car, but the officer forced the other car to the curb and the suspects were arrested without further incident, charges state.
Investigators recovered a .380-caliber handgun from the road near 3600 South and 900 East, where one of the men tossed it from the car during the pursuit. A second weapon — a .45-caliber handgun — was found by a resident the next morning in the yard of a home near 1000 East Millcreek Way (3510 South). Shell casings from the same caliber of weapons were found at the Taylorsville shooting site, Bell said.
At least two cars were shot at, as well as the window of an LDS church, charges state. A woman reported that after seeing a white car with a loud muffler stopped near her car, she found her car had been broken into. And a man who outside when he heard gunshots, said that as a similar car passed him, the passenger fired a gunshot into the air.
The defendants are being held at the Salt Lake County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.