WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, May 20, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A juvenile, one of two people suspected in the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man on Saturday, was taken into custody by the West Valley City Police Department late Tuesday night.
WVCPD Lt. M.C. Johnson said detectives had spent several days following up on the shooting that took place in Kings Pointe Park.
“…Tonight they were able to ascertain the location of the second suspect they were looking for, and they were able to safely take him into custody,” Johnson said.
He said other agencies, such as the Metro Gang Unit and VFAST (Violent Fugitive Apprehension Team), have been assisting West Valley detectives in locating the suspect, “so you’re talking 20, 30, 40 detectives that have been out there trying to find him, checking different houses, and eventually they were able to locate him tonight.”
“They can get hundreds of tips and that’s why it takes so many people working on it,” he added.
The victim, Lewis Orlando Jensen, 18, was shot once in the chest while at the park, at 1330 W. Rothchild Drive (3665), around 6 p.m. Saturday. He was transported to the hospital in extremely critical condition and was not breathing on his own.
A little before 10 p.m. Saturday, police reported on Twitter that the young man had died.
On Monday, WVCPD tweeted, “A 16-year-old suspect in this case is in custody on unrelated charges. Another suspect is outstanding.”
The police said the trouble began when two groups of people had a disagreement and showed up at the park to fight.
One group was in a vehicle, police said, and at one point, a passenger in the vehicle got out and fired a couple shots. The victim, Jensen, was shot once.
On Tuesday night, Lt. Johnson said the suspect taken into custody is younger than 18 and his name is not being released because of his juvenile status.
Johnson said it isn’t known if Saturday’s shooting was gang-related.
Referring to the search for this suspect, Johnson said, “It’s a lot of hard work by a lot of dedicated individuals that have been out there looking for him, so it’s nice to be able to get him into custody and wrap up things up as far as that portion of the investigation goes.”
Gephardt Daily will update this story as more information is made available.
My son was with him all the time. And the day before. I hope they charge these low life kids as adults. They went there with a gun. And if you are carrying then you fully intentionally went there knowing they’d possibly use it. So many are suffering over his death. He was a great kid and all he wanted was to make something of himself. Innocents are being killed on our streets daily. It is time we come together as a community and parents to put a stop to this and put pressure on these lil gang bangers and and get them and the guns off our streets. We need better options for our children when we feel they’re in danger. Instead of waiting for things like this to happen.