1 sent to prison, 3 plead guilty to ambush murder of 15-year-old boy

SALT LAKE CITY — One teenager was sentenced, and another three pleaded guilty this month in the killing of a 15-year-old in a West Valley neighborhood.

Francisco Jesus Cuena’s body was found in a car that had crashed into a brick wall in Caesar Circle (3880 South) near 1400 West on March 3, 2023.

Prosecutors say he was lured into the neighborhood and ambushed. Surveillance cameras show several teenagers waiting for the boy to arrive and immediately firing, despite his attempts to leave. Instagram messages show a woman had made plans to meet him there, according to charging documents.

When the four individuals were arrested, they were all either 16 or 17 years old but were charged as adults with murder and felony discharge of a firearm, first-degree felonies, and four counts of illegal discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony.

Under plea deals, Bryan Alvarez, 18, Anthony Alexander Hernandez, 19, and Xavior Lunt, 18, each pleaded guilty to murder, a first-degree felony. In exchange, the other charges were dismissed.

Kimberly Alvarez, 19, was originally charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, a second-degree felony, as part of a plea deal. She also pleaded guilty to illegal discharge of a firearm, a second-degree felony, and an additional discharge of a firearm count was dismissed.

Lunt, who a witnesses said was the first to fire, was also the first to plead guilty on April 19. He was sentenced to a term of 15 years to life in prison. A witness said Lunt had shown them a video of someone who had been shot and was bleeding in a car, and the witness recognized the car from news reports.

The other three pleaded guilty on May 1 and will be sentenced together on Aug. 18.

A second witness reported he had picked up the four teens after the shooting and they reported they had plans to rob Cuena when setting up the meeting, but said “it went wrong,” according to charging documents. That witness also said Kimberly Alvarez alone fired 23 times.

Police reported finding about 20 bullet holes in the car Cuena was found in, in addition to damage from shots to nearby vehicles and homes. An autopsy found that Cuena was hit three times, and grazed two additional times.

All four individuals charged were identified by a school resource officer at Taylorsville High School who said they were members of a street gang, according to cour documents.

“(Hernandez) told his father that Bryan (Alvarez) had been ‘beefing’ with (Cuena) and wanted to hurt him. (Hernandez) said Bryan (Alvarez) had (Hernandez) and his other friends come up with a plan to lure (Cuena) to the area and rob him. (Hernandez) told his father that when (Cuena) arrived and everyone got out of the vehicles, they started shooting,” the charges state.