A 19-year-old man is in jail after police said he slashed a car’s tires and then fired three dozen shots at a witness who reportedly saw him do it.
The witness told police he was walking his dog outside the LeBanke Apartments at 3185 S. 200 East shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Thursday when he saw the 19-year-old suspect and a woman by his car. The suspect was “stabbing the tire of his car with a knife,” according to a probable cause statement; three of the four tires were slashed.
The suspect and the woman got in a car driven by another man, who drove away. The witness said he went inside to ask his wife to call police. When he went back outside, the suspect was back, in a parked car on 200 East. Someone in the car began firing a gun at him, but he was not hit.
Several vehicles in the apartment complex’s parking lot were struck by bullets, causing damage “well over $5,000,” according to police.
The witness found a picture of the woman on Facebook, police said. She was located and told police that she was with the suspect during the shooting. The 19-year-old man was arrested at a home in West Valley City, where police also found two rifles.
The suspect was booked into the Salt Lake County jail. Pending formal charges, he’s under investigation for aggravated assault, criminal mischief, possession of a gun by a restricted person and 36 counts of felony discharge of a firearm. He’s being held without bail.
