Silver Summit • Bright-eyed and curious, a 16-month-old girl cruised around a 3rd District courtroom on Monday, unaware that the man in the defendant’s seat, James Enoch Henfling, 29, was about to be sentenced for killing her father.
Jose Fernandez didn’t get a chance to meet his daughter. In the early morning hours of Feb. 22, 2016, he was shot in the head with a .40-caliber handgun. Fernandez died four days later. His wife, Griselle Trujillo, was nine weeks pregnant when Henfling shot Fernandez as he was lying on his back.
The incident took place at Fernandez’s home after a night of drinking.
A jury found Henfling, a resident of Midvale, guilty of murder and felony discharge of a weapon. Judge Patrick Corum sentenced him Monday to 16 years to life at the Utah State Prison for murder with one year added as a firearm enhancement.
The judge ruled that the felony discharge of a firearm, which carries a sentence of 5 years to life, would be served concurrently — at the same time — with the murder term.
“The case cries out for consecutive sentences,” Corum said, meaning that the murder sentence would have to be completed before the prison term for felony firearm discharge could begin.
“The defendant brought a loaded gun into this man’s home and killed him. He robbed his wife and child of their husband and father,” Corum said. “At no time did the defendant come to the aid of Jose. You left him on the floor to die.”
Nonetheless, Corum said the law dictates the sentences run at the same time. He also ordered Henfling to pay $50,000 in restitution.
The defendant sat without motion as Fernandez friends and family members told the court that he was a great family man, a good friend and an important member of the community. Some, including the judge, criticized Henfling for showing no remorse.
Fernandez worked for Jesse Shetler at the No Name Saloon and Boneyard Saloon in Park City for 13 years.
Before the sentencing, Shetler told the judge that Fernandez was a hard-working employee and a good friend. During the trial, Shetler said, no one during the murder trial got to hear what a “great” guy Fernandez was.
“You ripped apart Jose’s family and at the same time, you ripped apart your own life,” Shetler told Henfling. “Because of you, there is only pain and suffering.”
Trujillo told the judge that she and Fernandez had been trying to get pregnant for many years without success. “When I was finally able to conceive, it was a wonderful moment for us. I’ll never forget his happy face,” she said through an interpreter. “I’m wondering how this could happen to us all these years after going for our dream.”
She also said she hoped that Henfling could show some remorse and stop blaming Fernandez for what happened.
Henfling told Park City police that he and Fernandez got into an altercation at the victim’s residence and started punching and choking each other. Henfling said Fernandez began beating him with a stick and that he almost lost consciousness.
During subsequent interviews, according to court documents, the defendant said “I guess I should have shot him in the foot or the hand or just in the air, but being natural reaction, being a hunter, you shoot to kill.”
The jury didn’t buy Henfling’s account because, among other things, he did not try to help Fernandez or call for help after the shooting.
