JUNCTION, Utah, Jan. 13, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A 17-year-old accused of shooting and killing a 16-year-old Piute High School student is being charged as an adult in the girl’s murder.
Francisco Daniel Aguilar was charged Friday with aggravated murder in the Jan. 8 shooting death of Jacqueline Nunez, whose body was found at 10:12 p.m. near a dirt road north of Circleville, police said.
Aguilar, who will be 18 in August, also was charged with attempted aggravated murder for shooting multiple times at a friend who was trying to assist Nunez. Because he was originally charged as a juvenile, his name was not previously announced.
Piute County prosecutors say Aguilar shot Nunez in the leg, shattering her femur, “as she was fleeing from [his] vehicle in an attempt to reach a vehicle driven by her friend,” according to charges filed Friday in 6th District Court.
Aguilar also fired “multiple shots” at the friend’s vehicle, “shattering the passenger window and also hitting the passenger side of [the] vehicle,” the charges state.
Nunez’s friend, described in the charges as an adult, was shot at several times and “had to drive away to escape death or serious bodily injury.”
Prosecutors say Aguilar then “walked to where [Nunez] was laying and bleeding on a dirt road, and shot her in the head (from a close distance) causing her death.” He then fled the scene, charges state.
A Sevier County sheriff’s deputy spotted Aguilar’s vehicle about 11 p.m. in Glenwood, charges state. Aguilar refused to pull over, leading a short pursuit that ended with his vehicle’s tires being spiked, according to charging documents.
Aguilar was arrested at 11:16 p.m. and was later booked into the Sevier County Jail, where he’s being held without bail.
Aguilar has been charged with:
- Aggravated murder, a first-degree felony
- Attempted aggravated murder, a first-degree felony
- Discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony
- Two counts of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony
A vigil for Nunez was held Thursday evening at Piute High School, where she was a sophomore. She was described on the school’s Facebook page as “an excellent athlete.”
“Jacqueline Nunez Fund has been set up at State Bank of Southern Utah to help the family with funeral costs and other expenses due to the recent tragedy,” according to fundraising information posted on school’s Facebook page.
