OGDEN, Utah, Aug. 12, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — An Ogden teenager has accepted a plea deal after he was originally charged with attempted murder.
According to charging documents, 18-year-old Jovani Hernandez allegedly fired a gun multiple times at his girlfriend’s residence, which family members had just re-entered after an altercation outdoors.
Hernandez had faced charges of:
- Attempted murder, a first-degree felony
- Possession, purchase, transfer or use of a firearm by a restricted person, a second-degree felony
- Felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony
After the deal was filed on Tuesday, Hernandez pleaded guilty to:
- Aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, punishable by 1 to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000
- Felony discharge of a weapon, a third-degree felony, punishable by 3 to 5 years in prison, with a fine of up to $5,000.
According to the affidavit filed in the case, Roy City Police officers responded to a shots fired call at 11:39 p.m. on June 7.
“It was reported that on 6/7/20, Jovani and (a male related to the 17-year-old girlfriend of Hernandez) had been in an argument where (the male relative) smacked Jovani for calling (the girlfriend’s mother by two obscene terms) while outside the family residence.”
Hernandez’s girlfriend was also outside the house.
“After the two shots it is reported that both (the male relative and the mother) “responded inside the residence and then they heard a third shot.”
Three neighbors reported hearing the shots.
“One neighbor reports seeing a ‘young man’ and a ‘young woman’ running on the frontage road behind his home and stated that they were yelling at each other. After which, it is reported the ‘young man’ and ‘young woman’ get into a dark SUV, which turns around and speeds off towards 4000 S.”
Police located an audio recording in “which you can hear an argument between
multiple people, and during this argument you can hear at least two gunshots,” the affidavit says.
Photographs were taken of two bullet holes in the door casing and one mark on the concrete near the door frame.
“Later CSI responded back and was able to cut out two bullet slugs from the door casings. These bullet holes were head height in relation to where (the male relative) was reported as standing at the time the shots were fired.”
Immediately after the incident, Hernandez and his girlfriend could not be located.
“A search warrant was approved to attempt to locate Jovani through his cell
phone provider, several other attempts (call, messages, and personal contact
with family members) were made to try to locate Jovani and (the girlfriend), however neither have been located,” at the time the statement was filed.
The two were later located, and Hernandez was booked into jail on July 2. The girlfriend was unhurt.
Hernandez has been held without bail due to the seriousness of the charges and the fact he was on felony probation through the Juvenile Court.
The date of Hernandez’s hearing has not yet been determined.
