OGDEN, Utah -- A man has been booked into jail and faces charges of murder and obstruction of justice, and he told police he assaulted the victim because he had been following his daughter.
Jose Robert Zamora, 22 of Ogden, was arrested Monday and booked into jail facing charges of murder and obstruction of justice.
The charges are in connection with the death of a 74-year-old man found dead in an alleyway in Ogden near 26th and Monroe Boulevard Monday.
Police have not officially identified the victim, but Ted Dominguez and Don Jones said it was their neighbor, Dave. When they saw the mugshot of Zamora they recognized him right away.
“He would walk by with, either it was his girlfriend or his wife, with her kids and he'd walk by. He was always screaming at the kids for something,” said Jones.
In fact, Dominguez said he saw Zamora confront Dave about a month ago.
“Supposedly Dave had peed in front his daughter. Dave did have that habit of urinating, but I don't believe he did it in front of his daughter,” said Dominguez.
That's when Dominguez stepped in and tried to help.
“I said leave him alone. He's an old man. He didn't do nothing to you,” said Dominguez.
Police began investigating after the body was found, and they identified Zamora as a suspect after a witness who heard an altercation in the alleyway recognized the man's face and identified him out of a lineup.
Another person told police they had seen Zamora outside a few days prior and that Zamora assaulted and punched the other man, who she said had been sitting on her porch and refusing to leave. She said Zamora told her he was going to "kill that old man" and that he planned to wait outside the victim's apartment and kill him.
Zamora told the witness he wanted to kill the man because the man had been following his daughter.
Police arrested Zamora, and the man told police he and the victim had problems in the past and he admitted to punching the man in a previous altercation before the other man fled.
"He stated that [victim] had followed his daughter in the past and that one night he had seen [victim] peeking into his daughter's window," according to charging documents.
Zamora said he went for a late night walk to 7-Eleven and saw the victim sitting on the porch of his apartment. Zamora told police his "rage built" and he called out to the man before charging at him and attacking him.
Zamora told police he didn't remember everything but did recall hitting the man several times with a stick. He told police he began to leave, but then went back and hit the man two more times while the victim appeared to be unconscious.
Zamora told police he went home and showered and disposed of the weapon and his bloodied clothing.
Zamora was booked into jail Monday night, with police requesting he be held without bail.
Dominguez and Jones said Dave was struggling with some mental health issues.
“He was off his medication and I think that was causing a lot of his problems,” said Dominguez.
However, most people in the neighborhood accepted him for who he was.
“He was troubled but harmless,” said Jones.
Even though they're relieved that police made an arrest, things still don't feel right in their Ogden neighborhood.
“It still bothers me because it was right here. Right close to home and like I say it should`ve never happened. It shouldn`t have got that far,” said Jones.
