Three men have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a man whose body was found in the parking lot of a West Valley restaurant on Sunday.
Hassan Al-Rekabi, 18, was booked into jail for investigation of criminal homicide and obstruction; Samuel Niu, 19, and Bryan Zumaya-Garcia, 21, were both booked for investigation of obstruction, according to West Valley Police.
At about 2:26 a.m. on Sunday, police responded to a report of shots fired at the Overlook Apartments. They discovered the body of 22-year-old Jake Gengelbach in the adjacent parking lot of the Hires Big H Restaurant at 2900 W. and 4700 South. Gengelbach had been shot multiple times, and bullet casings were found near his body.
On Monday afternoon, a SWAT team went to Rekabi’s home near 2100 East and 8900 South in Sandy to serve a warrant, and he drove off in a car. Rekabi was stopped and taken into custody in a nearby parking lot. According to a probable cause statement, after he was advised of his rights Rekabi “admitted to shooting” Gengelbach “multiple times with a semi-automatic handgun,” adding that he then ran from the scene and threw the gun away.
Niu admitted to police that he was “at the location” where the shooting occurred and “well aware of the homicide” but said he didn’t notify police because “he did not want to go to jail for something he did not do,” according to a probable cause statement. According to a third statement, Zumaya-Garcia admitted he was present when Gengelbach was shot and that he failed to notify police.
