A Texas man is facing 25 felony charges after prosecutors say he fired more than 20 rounds into a crowd of people during an evening soccer game at a Salt Lake City park this month, injuring two people.
On May 1 at about 7:30 p.m., police were called to 17th South River Park, where multiple people reported a shooting. When officers arrived, a 21-year-old man was found lying in the middle of the soccer field, suffering from a gunshot wound to the left side of his chest.
More than two hours later, a 65-year-old man was found in a field south of the shooting scene, also suffering from a gunshot wound to his left chest, in addition to injuries to his left ear, court records state. Both men were taken to hospitals to be treated for their wounds, and are expected to recover.
The 65-year-old told police he was sitting in his truck drinking beers and watching a soccer game when 33-year-old Steven Matthew Macias pulled up in a truck with a second man. The three of them began drinking together until the second man left, court records state.
Macias and the 65-year-old man then went to a store, bought more beer and returned to the park to continue drinking. The 65-year-old told police he ultimately fell asleep, but was later awakened by Macias, who demanded to know what had happened to his “missing money,” court records state.
The 65-year-old said he knew nothing about any missing money. That’s when he said Macias stood in front of his truck and shot him, court records state. The 65-year-old ran away but soon collapsed, where police found him at about 10 p.m.
After shooting the 65-year-old, prosectors say Macias then turned around and fired about 23 rounds into a crowd of people at the soccer game before leaving the scene.
The day after the shooting, Macias called police and said he had been at the park and thought “he may have done something, and he needed law enforcement to know where he was,” court records state. Utah Highway Patrol then arrested him near Eureka.
When interviewed by police, Macias admitted he “consumed multiple beers” and “was intoxicated,” according to a probable cause statement. He said he was “upset” with the 65-year-old because of the “missing money,” so he shot him, and admitted he then turned and started shooting into the crowd behind him, court records state.
Macias told investigators that after the shooting, he got into his truck and drove away. As he was driving, he threw a bag containing his AR-15-style rifle out the window, and said he later buried his cellphone and iPad, court records state.
Macias was charged in 3rd District Court with 25 felonies related to the shooting: two felony counts of discharging a weapon resulting in serious bodily injury; two felony counts of obstructing justice; one felony count of aggravated assault; and 20 felony counts of discharging a firearm.
He is being held without bail in the Salt Lake County jail, and is considered a “person of interest” in an unspecified Texas killing, court records state.
A court hearing in the Salt Lake City case is slated for Monday.
from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/5kjJshv
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