UTAH COUNTY, June 3, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A third suspect is in custody after a fatal shooting Wednesday evening in Orem.
Chance Nuttall, 20, turned himself in to authorities about 20 hours after what Orem Police officials described as “a drug deal gone bad.” The incident left one juvenile dead and two others wounded.
Nuttall is believed to have been the driver of a car that he and two other males took to the scene of a proposed drug deal outside a ward house of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, at 780 North 165 East, in Orem.
According to a probable cause statement, one of those other males, 18-year-old Sidney Ramon Rodriguez, of Spanish Fork, left the car and got into the vehicle of four juveniles who allegedly initiated the meeting in hopes of buying drugs.
A second juvenile male, who police say had arrived with Nuttall and Rodriguez, exited their vehicle armed with a rifle and approached the alleged “buyers'” vehicle. Investigators say he then stuck the rifle through the rear driver’s side window and attempted to rob the four juveniles.
Two of the juveniles in the “buyers'” vehicle grabbed the barrel of the rifle, the statement says, and a struggle ensued for the gun.
“A shot was fired during this and victim three was hit in the leg,” the probable cause statement says. “Two other shots were fired during the struggle at this point.”
Rodriguez was able to exit the “buyers'” vehicle, a white Chevrolet Cavalier, which then drove to a second location, 1274 N. State St., in Orem. The driver reportedly hoped to get help at that site, the statement says.
Orem police arrived at the State Street scene, and discovered one of four juveniles who had been ambushed had been shot in the neck was dead. Two others were wounded. A fourth juvenile in the car was not hurt.
Rodriguez and the juvenile, who police say admitted to being the shooter, have both been taken into custody. One is being housed at the Utah County Jail and the other in a juvenile detention center.
The juvenile’s name is not being released due to his age.
Rodriguez’s probable cause statement says he faces charges of:
- Aggravated murder, a first-degree felony
- Three counts of attempted murder, a first-degree felony
- Obstruction of justice, a first-degree felony
Charges against the juvenile, said to be a younger relative of Rodriguez, have not been released due to his age.
The probable cause statement filed in Rodriguez’s case says the younger boy, who was brought to the police station by his mother, told police he was the shooter and had not informed others in his car of his intent to rob the alleged buyers.
Orem police issued a photo of Nuttall just after noon Thursday in hopes of locating him after they suspected he had fled, possibly to Las Vegas or California. They asked the public to share any leads.
At about 3 p.m., the OPD updated the request, saying Nuttall had turned himself in. The statement did not share additional details.
“Chance has turned himself in,” the OPD statement says. “Thank you to those who kept a look out and for the tips called in.”
