HERRIMAN, Utah, June 1, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — A second man has been arrested in connection with the stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy in Herriman.
Hunter John Armstrong, 18, was arrested Thursday afternoon by Herriman City Police for investigation of aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony.
The first person arrested in the case was Keith Tyree McClendon, 19, taken into custody early Wednesday evening on the same charge. Police say additional charges are being screened by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
McClendon was ordered to be held without bail. Armstrong was released on his own recognizance.
Chain of events
McClendon’s affidavit says police were called to the scene on a report of a stabbing with a male bleeding.
“When officers arrived on scene life saving measures had been attempted by EMS but the victim, a 16-year-old male (juvenile victim 1) was pronounced dead. The apparent injury was a puncture wound to the center of his chest which appeared to be consistent with a stab wound.”
Police have not released the name of the victim (called juvenile victim 1 hereafter), so Gephardt Daily is not sharing it either.
Early in the investigation, a lead took police investigators from Herriman and South Jordan to a Riverton residence where a white Audi passenger car believed involved in the stabbing incident sat in the driveway. South Jordan police were in the area to add security for a graduation ceremony at a school some of the boys attended.
Armstrong probable cause statement says the victim had been with a friend, who remained at the death scene when police arrived. The victim’s friend is identified in the probable cause statement as “Keith.”
“Keith, made a statements that he had made a plan to attack a 17-year-old (called juvenile male 2 hereafter) as they had an ongoing rivalry against each other,” Armstrong’s probable cause statement says.
“Keith stated that he recruited three others,” who included Armstrong, another male who has not been charged, and juvenile victim 1.
McClendon, Armstrong, the uncharged male and juvenile victim 1 located the vehicle of the juvenile male 2, charging documents say. According to an earlier news release, an 18-year-old woman was in the car with juvenile male 2 at the time of the attack.
When the car was found, a SWAT response was conducted, and police learned the woman and juvenile male 2 were not with the vehicle, and had been transported to an area hospital for treatment.
At the time of the assault, Armstrong stood in front of the juvenile male 2’s vehicle to prevent it from leaving while others attacked the boy, his affidavit says.
The targeted boy was beaten and bloody. He had fought back, and the 16-year-old, juvenile victim 1, was left mortally wounded.
“The seriousness of the attack was enough that when Hunter and (the uncharged male) saw the severity, they chose to leave in (the uncharged male’s car). During the attack, the 16-year-old was stabbed in the chest, and died from the wound,” Armstrong’s affidavit says.
“Even though at this time Hunter has not been accused of participating in the physical attack on (juvenile male 2), he did conspire with Keith and others to assist in the attack and make sure it happened. His actions were quite severe as one of the attackers sustained a mortal stab wound during this incident.”
Gephardt Daily will have more information on this story as the case develops.
