SOUTH JORDAN, Utah, Dec. 2, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A body found in a South Jordan field Monday morning is the suspect in a Thanksgiving shooting in the area.
Three people underwent emergency surgery after being shot and wounded at the South Jordan house party early Thursday morning.
Until the discovery of the body, the gunman was thought to be at large.
A news release from South Jordan police Monday afternoon said: “The department is investigating the death of Joshua Perez-Garcia. Joshua and his vehicle were found in a residential construction site in the area of 6200 W. 11000 S. on Monday Dec. 2, by construction workers coming into work. Joshua was considered the main suspect in a shooting that happened on Thanksgiving morning that resulted in three people being injured and was wanted for questioning. We are investigating Joshua’s death as suspicious and the investigation is ongoing.”
South Jordan Police Lt. Matt Pennington told Gephardt Daily Monday morning crews coming back to work after the Thanksgiving holiday found the body at approximately 8 a.m. and called authorities.
The body has been transported to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner. Pennington said at this time a cause of death is not clear.
Pennington told Gephardt Daily Thursday officers were called to a “chaotic” scene at in the area of 4600 W. South Jordan Parkway about 2:30 a.m. with reports of a single gunshot. When police arrived they found three wounded victims inside the home.
Pennington said the adult victims were rushed to a local hospital with one of them suffering life-threatening injuries. The latter victim suffered between eight and 12 gunshots. The other two victims were shot once each, one in the arm, one in the torso.
Witnesses told investigators the shooting took place after a “disagreement” between the shooter and the victim that was critically injured, and that gunman ran from the residence.
Police from multiple agencies, including West Jordan, West Valley City, Unified PD, Herriman, Riverton, South Salt Lake, joined South Jordan PD in setting up a wide containment effort in the surrounding neighborhood, but the suspect was not found.
It’s not clear at this time exactly what the altercation was about.
If anyone has information about the suspect or the incident on Thanksgiving you are being asked to contact the South Jordan Police Department at 801-840-4000.
Gephardt Daily will update the story as more information becomes available.
