Jail documents shed light on Granary District homicide

Salt Lake County jail documents reveal more details about what happened the night a man was shot and killed on the south end of the Granary District.

David Gonzales, 28, was shot dead on a sidewalk in front of a building at 970 S. 300 West early Saturday morning. Nicholas James Valdez, 27, turned himself in to the police that afternoon.

When Valdez arrived, officers noted that he had injuries consistent with being involved in a violent fight, including cuts to his face, according to a probable cause statement filed with the jail. He was booked under suspicion of homicide, a first degree felony, and three counts of discharging a firearm.

When police arrived in the Granary District, they saw several people running from the scene, according to the statement. They also found Gonzales on the sidewalk, with a single gunshot wound to the head, the statement adds.

Officers went inside the building at 970 S. 300 West and found evidence of a violent fight in an upstairs room, including overturned and broken furniture, bloody clothing and broken glass.

Security camera footage captured Nicholas Valdez on the sidewalk in front of the building, firing one shot from a handgun, according to the statement. The video then shows him firing one shot into the air, the statement adds. Two witnesses also told police that they saw Valdez shooting the gun.

Officers found five rounds of ammunition and three spent shell casings, all of them 9mm, in the area where Valdez was seen firing the gun, the statement adds.

Investigators later recovered a 9mm handgun. Crime lab technicians will test it for DNA.

After Valdez turned himself in to the police, he declined to make a statement.

Donald Valdez, a relative of the alleged shooter, was also arrested and booked on suspicion of obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.

all.justice@sltrib.com