Salt Lake City police have arrested a suspect in the May shooting death of a man that reportedly stemmed from a dispute over a car.
The 41-year-old man was taken into custody on Tuesday and booked into the Salt Lake County jail. He is suspected of shooting and killing Robert Barros, 40, on May 29.
Police found Barros’ body in an apartment complex parking lot in the area of 1790 S. West Temple at 11:43 a.m. that day. According to witnesses and surveillance footage, Barros was inside a parked Chevrolet Impala when a Honda Accord pulled up behind him, blocking him in.
A man — later identified as the suspect — got out of the Honda and shot Barros, who stumbled a short distance away and collapsed, according to a probable cause statement.
Then, a passenger in the Honda got behind the wheel and drove the Honda away, while the shooting suspect got into the Impala and also drove away. In a news release, police wrote that they cannot release any information about the second driver, and that they are continuing to investigate.
The Honda was later located near the shooting scene, and the Impala was found at a Kearns residence, according to the probable cause statement. The owner of the Impala told police that Barros had borrowed her car and did not bring it back, and that when she attempted to retrieve it, he “kept fleeing when she would find him.”
On May 29, the woman and the suspect asked the Honda’s owner if they could borrow it to go get the Impala. According to the probable cause statement, the suspect was seen on surveillance footage leaving the Kearns home alone in the Honda at about 10:50 a.m. and returning at about 12:03 p.m. in the Impala. The video also shows the Impala’s owner cleaning the driver’s seat area of the car and removing several items from the trunk, including a hat.
According to police, the suspect was then seen on video carrying a box that “seemed to contain multiple items,” which he burned in a fire pit behind the home.
The suspect’s cell phone and driver license were found in the Honda, police said. He is being held without bail while under investigation for murder, possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and obstruction of justice.
The Salt Lake Tribune generally does not name suspects until they have been charged with a crime.
