WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A man has been arrested and charged with shooting and killing another man outside a house party during Halloween weekend.
Jhared Ivan Rodriguez, 20, was charged with one count of first-degree murder, along with seven counts of felony discharge of a firearm.
The shooting happened on the night of Oct. 28. According to police, Rodriguez and the victim, Jesus Puerta Tovar, didn't know each other before the incident.
Witnesses said Rodriguez was already at the party in West Valley City when Tovar and two of his friends arrived. Rodriguez and one of Tovar's friends had "beef" over a woman, and so Tovar's group was asked to leave. A fight broke out between Tovar's and Rodriguez's groups of friends, but it eventually broke up and Tovar's group left. However, they realized they had left a set of keys inside, so they returned, and a fight started again.
During the fight, witnesses said Rodriguez pulled out a gun and cocked it. This sent everyone running, and Rodriguez reportedly shot Tovar. Witnesses said he targeted Tovar because Tovar yelled a comment about the "beef" between his friend and Rodriguez, involving a woman.
Tovar's friends took him to the hospital, where he later died from gunshot wounds to his back and his arm, according to the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office.
Rodriguez was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on a no-bail warrant.
