A Heber City man has been charged with murder after he allegedly fired a handgun and the bullet traveled into a nearby apartment and killed a 7-year-old girl.
Christopher Robert Oconnell, 34, of Heber City, has been charged in 4th District Court with murder, a first-degree felony; felony discharge of a firearm and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, third-degree felonies; and carrying a dangerous weapon while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, a class B misdemeanor. In addition, Oconnell has been charged with distribution of a controlled substance, a third-degree felony; possession of a controlled substance, a class B misdemeanor; intoxication, a class C misdemeanor; and sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor.
On Friday, police were called to the Wasatch Commons apartments at 2790 N. Commons Blvd. in Heber City and learned that 7-year-old Zaydanielys Rodriguez Irizarry had been shot. Her parents drove her to Heber Valley Hospital, where she died.
Police arrested, Oconnell, who, they said, was “obviously intoxicated … non-compliant” and was carrying a gun in his waistband. According to a probable cause statement, two women told police they’d been with Oconnell and two other men who were “incredibly intoxicated” and Oconnell and one of the other men groped them. And, they said, Oconnell pulled out a gun and waved it around.
When detectives searched the apartment, they found a bullet hole in the wall. According to the probable cause statement, Oconnell told police he drank alcohol and took a sedative before the shooting.
Oconnell was booked into the Wasatch County jail, where he is being held without bail.
One of the other men in the apartment has been changed with obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony, and misdemeanor counts of sexual battery and intoxication. As of Wednesday morning, a third man, who was arrested for investigation of obstruction of justice, has not been charged.
