SPANISH FORK, Utah, Sept. 13, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A man taken into custody following Sept. 4 shootings near Utah Lake has now been formally charged in the case.
Cesar Matias Sevilla-Aleman, 25, was charged Monday on suspicion of:
- Two counts of murder (attempted), a first-degree felony
- Felony discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony
The shootings happened at a non-permitted rodeo-type event at 6767 Lincoln Beach Road, in Spanish Fork. The event was reportedly attended by thousands of people.
“Deputies arrived on scene and found there were two victims that had been shot,” says a probable cause statement filed by an officer of the Utah County Sheriff‘s Office. “One victim was shot in the arm and one was shot in the stomach.”
The arrest
Witnesses described the shooter and the woman he was with, along with their vehicle, to deputies, the statement says. Officers located the car, and Aleman reportedly gave officers a false name.
Aleman was identified by his fingerprints, and officers learned he had previously been deported in 2020, and was in the country illegally, the statement says. Aleman also had an active warrant out of Colorado. He was taken into custody on charges related to the warrant and his status as an illegal alien.
Videos from the shooting scene captured Aleman’s clothing and a tattoo, and showed him with a gun, the UCSO statement says. The targeted shooting victim, who was shot in the arm, identified Aleman as the gunman.
Victim update
A secondary victim was struck and critically injured by the same bullet after it traveled through the arm of the intended victim, the statement says.
The intended victim told investigators Aleman “kept trying to pick a fight with him. The victim stated he kept ignoring him and talking with his friends, this is when Aleman told the victim he had a gun and would kill him.
“Aleman then pulled a gun from his waistband, pointed it at the victim and pulled the trigger. The victim was hit in the arm, the bullet went in his arm and exited his arm and then hit a second victim in the stomach causing serious bodily injury which required him to be Life Flighted to the hospital.”
Sgt. Spencer Cannon, UCSO, confirmed to Gephardt Daily Tuesday that the critically injured victim has been released from the hospital, and continues his recovery at home.
Charging documents do not indicate whether Aleman and the targeted shooting victim were previously known to each other.
The affidavit notes that the shooting occurred in a “highly populated area with hundreds of people in a small area. The suspect pulled a gun and fired it with no regard for the safety of any of the hundreds of people in the area. Two people were hit causing serious bodily injury as a result of his actions.”
Gephardt Daily will have additional information as the case develops.
