SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Oct. 13, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City Police say they have arrested the alleged gunman wanted in Tuesday morning’s shooting at a State Street motel.
Joseph Marquez, 60, was taken into custody Wednesday, accused of shooting a 38-year-old man during an argument over a cigarette, according to a Wednesday night press release.
Marquez was to be booked into jail on charges of attempted murder, obstruction of justice and unlawful possession of a firearm by a restricted person, police said.
The name of the shooting victim is not being released pending notification of next of kin.
Patrol officers and the department’s Liberty Bike Squad were dispatched at 10:05 a.m. Tuesday to the parking lot of the Wasatch Inn, 1416 S. State St., where they found the critically wounded victim.
Officers started life-saving efforts and were joined by medical personnel from Gold Cross Ambulance and the Salt Lake City Fire Department, the release said.
Gold Cross took the victim to the hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
Later Tuesday, the SLCPD Homicide Squad arrested an alleged accomplice to the shooting. Seventy-one-year-old Thomas Leroy Glasker was taken into custody on charges of attempted murder and obstruction of justice, police said.
Witnesses told detectives they saw Glasker give Marquez a gun and then help Marquez flee the motel after the shooting.
Salt Lake City Police Chief Mike Brown praised investigators for making the quick arrests.
“An extraordinary amount of work goes into keeping our city safe,” Brown said. “Much of that work is out of public view. It includes our crime analysts, our victim advocates, our social workers and our detectives.
“I cannot stress enough — our patrol officers and specialty units — like our bike squads, are in our community every day working to proactively reduce crime.
“I am proud of their work and commitment to public safety. We would not be at this point in this investigation had it not been for the unrelenting work of our police officers and detectives who dropped everything to chase down the suspect in this case.
“They have my deep gratitude and I hope the community — especially those in the Ballpark neighborhood — recognize the sacrifices and hard work of our officers.”
Anyone with information on this case is asked to call 801-799-3000 and reference case number 22-201391.
