SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 28, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah State Court of Appeals has denied the innocence claim of a Utah man convicted of two counts of aggravated murder in a gang-related shooting.
The latest appeal of Riqo Mariano Perea, 31, was denied last week. He is serving a life sentence without parole after his 2010 conviction in Ogden for shootings at an Aug. 5, 2007 gathering attended by members of a rival gang.
Perea’s conviction was for two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of attempted murder, all first-degree felonies. Perea has appealed the conviction multiple times.
Since that case, Perea also pleaded guilty to a gang-related stabbing inside the Utah State Prison, which happened on July 27 of 2016.
According to court papers, he and four other inmates stabbed another prisoner, Roberto Duran, more than 30 times in the torso, neck and back.
In a plea deal, Perea’s crime of aggravated assault in that case was reduced from a first degree to a second degree felony.
