Authorities in Uintah County announced the arrest of a Guatemalan man who allegedly killed his cousin in Fort Duchesne earlier this month.
According to a statement released Thursday, deputies from the Uintah County Sheriff's Office discovered the body of David Urrutia, 39, in a residence at the Country Village Trailer Park on Jan. 7. Investigators later determined that the death was a homicide and issued an arrest warrant for Urrutia's cousin, 34-year-old Jose Edwardo Leiva-Perez.
U.S. Marshals located Leiva-Perez in southern California on Jan. 17, the statement said. He is awaiting extradition to Utah.
Leiva-Perez was charged in 8th District Court with first-degree murder on Jan. 10. According to court documents, Levia-Perez struck his cousin with a blunt object. A large amount of cash that Urrutia had taken out of the bank earlier was missing from the trailer.
kbennion@sltrib.com
Twitter: @KimballBennion