Left inset: Martin Cruz (Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office). Center inset: Fortunato Nato Villagrana (Salt Lake City Police Department). Right inset: Paris Gustin (KTVX). Background: Utah officers at the scene where 16-year-old Paris Gustin was fatally shot (KSTU/YouTube).
A Utah man is headed to prison after helping an associate track down teenagers accused of throwing eggs at vehicles. Prosecutors say the men drove around with an AK-47 before a 16-year-old boy was killed.
Martin Antonio Cruz, 31, was sentenced Monday to between one and 15 years in prison for manslaughter in connection with the 2016 shooting death of Paris Gustin, according to local NBC affiliate KSL.
Cruz reached a plea agreement that reduced his original murder charge to manslaughter. He was also credited with more than nine years already spent in custody since his 2017 arrest. Investigators say Cruz and his friend, Fortunato Nato Villagrana, went looking for Paris after “an egg was thrown from a vehicle” carrying the teenager, according to Salt Lake City police and prosecutors.
Authorities have not determined whether Paris threw the egg or was merely a passenger in the vehicle.
“Prior to the shooting, an egg thrown from a vehicle hit Villagrana in the ear and landed in the back seat of his vehicle,” the Salt Lake City Police Department said in a 2022 press release. The statement was issued after Villagrana was extradited from Mexico, where police said he had fled.
“Detectives learned Villagrana drove to his residence, collected a firearm and he, and then 21-year-old Martin Cruz, began searching for the people who threw the egg at him,” police said. “Once located, Villagrana is accused of leaning a portion of his body out of the window, with Cruz being the driver, and shooting into the vehicle occupied by Gustin.”
Villagrana is expected to face a jury early next year. Cruz testified against him at a preliminary hearing in July.
“He told on his friend to get a lesser sentence,” Paris’ mother, Ashley Gustin, said Monday, according to KSL. “It wasn’t to help the court or this case.”
Cruz waived his right to a speedy trial in 2018, according to reports. His attorney argued that the lengthy delay was not Cruz’s responsibility. Cruz pleaded guilty Aug. 3 and acknowledged that he recklessly caused Paris’ death, KSL reported.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed three counts of discharging a firearm.
“I don’t even know if there’s words to describe what he has done to me and my son,” Ashley Gustin told the court Monday. “He not only killed Paris that day — he killed me and everything that I was, everything that I loved in life.”
Deputy Salt Lake County Attorney Brad Cooley said prosecutors agreed to the reduced charge because they needed Cruz’s cooperation in bringing Villagrana back to the United States after his flight from the country.
Cruz’s attorney, Samuel Hanseen, said his client did not want to take part in the shooting but did not have the courage to confront Villagrana.
“He didn’t want to be involved, but he didn’t have it in him to stand up to his co-defendant,” Hanseen said.
Hanseen said Cruz accepts responsibility and regrets the decision he made. Cruz declined to address the court.
The post Man sentenced for helping pal who ‘hunted down’ teens ‘egging’ cars, used an AK-47 to execute boy from just a foot away: DA first appeared on Law & Crime.
