ST. GEORGE, Utah, July 10, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — An 18-year-old man has been booked into the Washington County jail after the shooting death of a 14-year-old girl in St. George.
Anthony Vegas has been booked on charges of:
- Murder, a first-degree felony
- Obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony
- Purchase/transfer/possession/or use of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Giving false personal information to a peace officer, a class C misdemeanor
Police responding to a call of possible gunshots arrived at the scene, an apartment at 600 N. 2450 East, at 8:40 p.m. Thursday.
“Officers arrived on scene and found a 14-years-of-age female victim with a gunshot wound to the head,” says a probable cause statement filed by an officer of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
“Prior to officers arriving, most witnesses involved had fled the scene. During the initial investigation, information obtained from witnesses stated that Anthony Vega had shot the female in the head and had fled the area.
“Anthony later called one of the juvenile witnesses and during that phone call admitted to shooting the juvenile female. Anthony also gave his current location to the juvenile witness. Officers were able to locate a male matching Anthony’s description and took him into custody.”
Vegas gave a false name, Tony Jones, to officers on the scene.
“He was asked many times over what his name was and continued to state he was Tony Jones. He also made statements to make officers believe he was not Anthony, and that Anthony was still on the run. The male was later identified as Anthony Vega and admitted to being Anthony Vega.
“During an interview, post Miranda, Anthony Vega admitted he had pointed the handgun at the female and pulled the trigger, shooting her. Two other juvenile witnesses confirmed that Anthony was playing with the handgun, pointing it at several individuals while pulling the trigger.”
Vegas admitted to taking the gun as he ran from the scene, the probable cause statement says.
“A juvenile witness also admitted that the individuals at the home, including Anthony, were smoking marijuana prior to the incident occurring.”
Vegas was booked into jail at 4:07 a.m. Friday. His bail is set at $500,000.
